Wiki-hunt the Search Continues

Paperclip – Cream Cheese I got in 7 steps.

Mongoose – Jack Kerouac I got, again, in 7 steps.

Star Wars – Tesla I got in 5.

I’ll post my progressions in the next few days. Someone already beat me soundly – in 4 steps! Your Kung-Fu is good RDOwens! : )

Ivory discovered a fun little exercise with the Wiki-hunt. I hope you dig ‘em as much as I do Gentle Reader.

Good Luck!

Wiki-hunt

I was recently horsing around on Facebook and a friend of mine (let’s call him, Ivory) posted that he was able to connect “Mario Tennis” and “Chiropractor” in 9 steps in a “Wiki-hunt”. He went on to challenge the rest of his sphere of FB friends to take up that challenge and to try to beat his score. Hey, Wikipedia is my favorite second brain so I had to give this a try. I got it down to 5 linkable steps – so did my wife, Mother Hen. I tell you this, Gentle Reader, not to gloat or to say “HA!” in any way, shape or form but to let you know that I had a blast and a half doing this search!

“Really, Evil Chicken; Really?”

Yes really. …Don’t be snarky.

The Wiki-hunt is like a puzzle that unravels as you find the connections – sort of like “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” without having to go to the movies. Well Ivory’s Wiki-hunt is just such an animal to a Wiki-head. Here is the progression that I found… Mother Hen and then Ivory found it too...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Tennis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_Software_Planning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acupuncture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic_treatment_techniques


Now there is the very real and present possibility that you could find a connection between “Mario Tennis” and “Chiropractor” in fewer steps than we did; if so please let us know – we would love to see the progression!

Now that you’ve seen how it’s done give it a try. Test your Mad Wiki Skillz, Gentle Reader but be warned… once you start connecting Point A to Point B with the fewest Wiki links you may find the puzzle can become quite the quest. That being said…

Paperclip / Cream Cheese

Mongoose / Jack Kerouac

Star Wars / Tesla

Happy hunting, Gentle Reader, and Good Luck!




Wikipedia, Wik-ihunt, Wikihunt, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, Facebook, Ebony and Ivory, Ivory,

Starlog Magazine

Not to brag but I knew who Kevin Flynn, Snake Plissken, Ellen Ripley, Mad Max and Rick Deckard were long before they made their first appearances onto movie screens the world over and into the collective unconscious of popular culture. I listened to what people like John Carpenter, Ray Bradbury, Gene Rodenberry, Ann C. Crispin, Terry Gilliam and Stephen Spielberg had to say about their latest projects while I plotted and planned at just how I was going to get to a movie theater or a bookstore in South Jersey that would actually peddle the wares they were creating.

“Evil Chicken, just how did you find out about this stuff before it came out?”

Gentle Reader, I was a fan of Starlog Magazine, that’s how. Sure Forrest J. Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland was a primary influence on the publication but I grew up reading Starlog. Starlog published glossy wonder and I ate up each and every page. I remember bugging the magazine guy on the first Tuesday of every month to see if the new issue of Starlog had arrived. Starlog was, for this Geek and a great many others, the bee’s knees. The magazine was around for almost 33 years, which is some feat when one considers that nature of the publishing industry these days. After all, Newsweek Magazine was bought yesterday for the grand total of $1.00. Starlog, however, was always near and dear to my heart. You see, back when a world wide computer network was nothing but science fiction Starlog was one of the only fountains for a Geek to drink from – it was a literal oasis in the publishing world. This magazine fed an entire generation of fanboys, including yours truly. Starlog fanned the flames of wonder.

And now, it’s gone.

I believe that it was the internet that killed Starlog. I remember heading to their site and hoping beyond hope that they would embrace this new technology to work in tandem with their print version. Alas, this was never the case. Their web site never took into account the vast changes in media that were taking place. On the internet readers could now comment and become a part of the conversation about all things geek. If there was an interview with a leading science fiction author or a report from a movie set or hints being dropped about what the next ‘Star Trek’ film was going to be about all fans had to do was drop a name onto a search engine and press ‘Enter’. This eliminated the wait for next month’s issue. Now information was instantaneous, plentiful and, depending on where one found it, accurate. The Starlog website never adapted which is ironic for a magazine that so prominently promoted the future to remain fixed in the past. Some magazines made the jump such as Wired (http://www.wired.com/) and others did not such as OMNI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_(magazine)) and, sadly, Starlog (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlog).

The first issue was published in August of 1976 and the final issue, #375, was published in April of 2009. I want to believe that Starlog is only in hibernation. I would love to see a multimedia version of a resurrected Starlog come to pass which would be launched electronically and in print; with a web presence and a go-to show on G4 or the SyFy Channel – all the Geek news that’s fit to print, blog or broadcast. The rights to Starlog are currently held by “The Brooklyn Company INC”, the same people who publish Fangoria (which was a sister publication to Starlog). I mention this tidbit as a means of introduction to the good people at The Brooklyn Company INC…

Please consider this blog the preamble to my resume. I am Evil Chicken and if you ever want to reboot Starlog... I am your man.

I like Ike’s

So do you like seafood? Yeah? Me too. In fact I like it so much that when Mother Hen said that she had procured a gift certificate from http://restaruant.com/ we made a beeline to the Flagship Restaurant on Route 49 and Union Road in Millville, NJ. Here is their website for your surfing pleasure: http://www.ikescrabcakes.com/millville.html and here is the review that I submitted to Restaurant.com…

You know that secret for when you travel that you want to ask a local where the best spots are? Sure you do. Well I’m a local and I would like to pass along such a spot – it’s called Ike’s Seafood and it is worth your time. Ike’s prides themselves on their crab cakes, which are amazing but one of my favorite items on the menu are the Giant Clam Strips. My wife and I split a plate as an appetizer. I could make a meal on these alone but, if you have a yearning for seafood, then you will want to save room.

I started off with a cup of the Corn Clam chowder while my wife had her old standby, French Onion soup. She stole a spoonful or two of mine but that was all right. One of the arcane secrets to a marriage is to develop the ability to share food items.

My wife had the Crab Imperial and I had a combination of fried delights that included flounder, shrimp, scallops and one of Ike’s Famous Crab Cakes. My, my, my…

Splendid.

Their salad bar is good too but my wife and I went straight for the seafood. I suggest you do the same. Take it from this local; you will not be disappointed.