Wednesday, 2 April 2008Gamesville Wallpapers
Topic: News
Posted by caroline81 at 3:36 PM EDTWant to spice up your computer's desktop? We're introducing a series of Gamesville wallpapers for you to download. To make one of our wallpapers your background, just click on any of the links below and then right click and save the image, or right click and choose "Set As Desktop Background." We'll have some more for you coming up - and make sure to let us know if you have any good ideas as to what might make a cool Gamesville wallpaper! Gamesville Gold Dragon Wallpaper Log in to Comment | Permalink Tuesday, 1 April 2008YOU'RE the next contestant on "The Price Is Right!"
Topic: Hollywood
Posted by caroline81 at 12:22 PM EDTWhile most young girls grow up desiring careers like acting, teaching, medicine, or law, a good friend of mine had a more offbeat dream as a kid – to be a game show host. Yes, while her peers wanted to be Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan, she idolized folks like Bob Barker and Wink Martindale. Her passion for game shows continues to this day, and so, last week, when we had the opportunity to sit in the audience for “The Price Is Right” - and maybe even get “called on down” – we couldn’t pass it up. And of course, I was almost as excited by the opportunity as she was. I work for Gamesville, after all, and grew up on game shows. Playing casual games online is not unlike appearing as a game show contestant, actually – you have the audience (albeit in a chat room), the chance to win thousands of dollars … but you can play in your pajamas and you don’t have to wear a nametag. So last Monday, my friend and I arrived at the CBS studio just before 6 AM, tickets in hand. We waited in line with a collection of groggy people from all over the country, some wearing tee-shirts proclaiming how far they had traveled to see the show or jokey requests like “Drew Carey Me to Plinko.” (Get it?) At 6 AM, a CBS page handed us order of arrival numbers, and told us to return two hours later. At 8 AM, a different page gave us new priority numbers and said, “Come back at 12:15 for the 4 PM taping.” You may be wondering why the producers needed audience members four hours early for a taping or force them to show up at the crack of dawn, and honestly, it’s a mystery to me, too. I’m assuming it has something to do with the Darwinian notion of weeding out the weak. If you want to be on “The Price Is Right,” you have to work for it! After filling out a form and having our snapshots taken by yet another chipper CBS page, the producers screened us. One producer sat stoically, clipboard in hand, while another casually chatted up the crowd. “Where are you from?” he asked jovially. “What do you do for a living?” Meanwhile, his compatriote scratched down notes and the two seemed to engage in some indescernable gesturing to one another, indicating who among the crowd would be cast. “Should we make up different jobs so we have a better chance of getting on?” my friend asked as we waited to be screened, furrowing her brow. She has the particularly un-sexy, corporate-sounding job title of “Brand Analyst,” after all. We decided that we’re sort of nervous liars so we just tried to smile as brightly as possible, probably looking more insane than natural in the process. After all of the time spent waiting, the actual taping of the show moved surprisingly fast. The studio was small and bright. Before the show began, the announcer, Rich Fields, and a collection of CBS pages and production assistants, successfully revved up the crowd by encouraging dancing to upbeat, party music like “I Will Survive.” (You haven’t lived till you’ve seen 70-year-olds boogying un-selfconsciously in a studio audience.) By the time Drew appeared on stage, everyone was totally hyped up – surprisingly so since minutes earlier, I thought I’d pass out on an uncomfortable CBS bench in the hot sun. Drew was a great host – he was funny between takes and chatted up the audience quite naturally Sadly, neither my friend nor I were “called on down.” But we did jump up and down, applaud, and scream wildly from the second row. We also hollered instructions to the contestants who made it onstage. (I admit it – any instructions I shouted to contestants were really based on nothing except for my need to be yelling at that moment, as passionate as I may have sounded. I hope they didn’t listen to me. I was usually wrong.) It seemed like every time we cheered at the top of our lungs, a production assistant bellowed at us to cheer louder. This may seem like a lot of forced pep, but actually, the atmosphere was pretty great. Sure, maybe CBS honchos were releasing some sort of endorphins through their central air system to increase enthusiasm, but it seemed to me that people were genuinely thrilled for the contestants. And really, isn’t this unbridled enthusiasm what makes “The Price Is Right” so great and so enduring after 36 years? Isn’t there just something fabulous about the fact that we live in a world where a person can win thousands of dollars or a new car (or alternatively, wart cream or a decorative gas pump, which were actual prizes during my taping) just by playing a game? This feeling really encapsulates, I think, what makes game shows and online games so appealing. So it may have not been me this time, but it could have been. And next time, it could be you. (Image: CBS.com)
Updated: Tuesday, 1 April 2008 12:33 PM EDT Log in to Comment | Permalink Monday, 31 March 2008Crazy_chick_2005 wins Magic 21!
Topic: Members
Posted by caroline81 at 11:57 AM EDTGamesviller Crazy_chick_2005 from Romeoville, IL won $4,558 playing Magic 21 last night! Congrats, Crazy_chick_2005! Log in to Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink Friday, 28 March 2008Spiff Up Your Ride With A GV ClassicLooking for a way to spiff up your ride now that spring has sprung? Might we suggest one of our classic "Kill Time, Not People" bumperstickers, now available at the Gamesville Prop Shop? Measuring 10" x 3" and printed on 4mil vinyl using water and UV resistant inks so it won't fade in the sun or bleed in the rain. Slap one on today! Log in to Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink Thursday, 27 March 2008RIP, Egg McMuffin Inventor
Topic: News
Posted by Chris Cummings at 9:49 AM EDTHerb Peterson, the man who invented the Egg McMuffin and introduced the concept of breakfast to McDonald's restaurants, has died. He was 89. Peterson was a McDonald's franchisee in the 1970s (and, up until his death, was actually still a co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in California). Forty years ago, McDonald's did not open before 11am and Peterson felt, according to this 2006 interview, that not offering something during those early morning hours was simply bad for business. Peterson asked a local blacksmith to make an egg ring to keep the fried egg round and tidy for a hand-held sandwich. Peterson concocted the meal in his McDonald's restaurant in Santa Barbara and asked Ray Kroc, McDonald's founder and Peterson's friend, to give it a try. The Egg McMuffin debuted as a national product four years later. Here is one of the early TV ads for the then-new breakfast food:
A public memorial service for Peterson will be held April 23 at All Saints by the Sea church in Montecito, California. For more information, see this article from Associated Press. Log in to Comment | Permalink Now Playing: B-52's Funplex
Topic: GV HQ
Posted by Chris Cummings at 9:12 AM EDTThere's a new sound rocking Gamesville HQ today, and it's the B-52's first album in sixteen years(!): Funplex.
The band says -- and we can happily confirm -- that Funplex is "loud, sexy rock and roll with the beat turned up to hot pink!" And if that doesn't convince you to check it out, we can't help you. Note: You can hear the songs for free on the band's MySpace page. Log in to Comment | Permalink Wednesday, 26 March 2008Bender's Big Score, Revisited
Topic: Hollywood
Posted by Chris Cummings at 5:42 PM EDTIn honor of Comedy Central (finally!) airing Futurama: Bender's Big Score, we proudly re-present our classic interview with the mini-movie's executive producer David X. Cohen. Are there additional episodes of Futurama planned? Who will provide guests voices? Does David like games? Read on! Log in to Comment | Permalink Tuesday, 25 March 2008Weird Wire: Man Looted Because Of Ad
Topic: Weird Wire™
Posted by Chris Cummings at 4:58 PM EDTYour mother was right: If something sounds too good to be true, it very well might be. But if an ad on an Internet site says you should rob your neighbor blind, you should really think twice. At least, that's what poor Mr. Salisbury of Jacksonville, Oregon, would prefer you to do. From the article: A pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned.Yikes. If you know someone with a new, suspiciously-obtained horse -- please let them know that items can be returned with no questions asked. Updated: Tuesday, 25 March 2008 5:05 PM EDT Log in to Comment | Permalink Sunday, 23 March 2008Happy Easter
Topic: Holiday Flare
Posted by Chris Cummings at 12:01 AM EDTHappy Easter from your friends at Gamesville.com! This year's Easter Avatar comes courtesy of Gamesville Gold Member "Chipwich0". (What is Gamesville Gold?) Log in to Comment | Permalink Friday, 21 March 2008Best Pets: Walter, Man, and Hercules
Topic: Best Pets
Posted by caroline81 at 12:01 AM EDTThis week's Best Pets are the trio of Walter, Mac, and Hercules from Griffithsville, WV. Pet Names: Walter, Mac, and Hercules
Pet Owner: Gamesviller Lappo37 Distinguishing Personality Traits: Lappo37 says, "Here are my babies, Mac on the left and Hercules on right and little Walter. Hercules was a rescue dog and became a partner in crime with Mac immediately. Walter the Pom rules the roost!"
Send photos to: members@gamesville.com In addition to your pet's picture, please include:
Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity. Log in to Comment | Permalink |
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