Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Shh! Delete this post and I'll share my ill gotten booty.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I think most of the challenge hosts just do the one pick and that's it, or at least used to (I know a few years back GoldenWheels talked about having unclaimed prizes left over from at least one challenge).
Somehow "ill gotten booty" doesn't sound all that great.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I shouldn't have a problem running things again this year. I've been very absent from challenges (and posting), but I'm planning on having some more time this year. Things should be a bit easier this time around and I hope to be a better host than I was last year.

I suggested a paring down of the checklist last year and I believe it was generally (unanimously?) defeated. My rationale was that checklists may discourage some from participation. With the Criterion challenge, we start to get away from discussion and towards checking items off a list. Personally, and I know everyone isn't with me on this one, that's what I find most fulfilling about participating in the challenge. I do think it's difficult to require spine numbers that are just coming around the bend as many of them are new releases and people may not have as easy of access to them. I'm really torn; spine numbers are such a part of the Criterion identity, but they are also completely arbitrary for the purposes of the challenge.

I think the checklists are good to have as they encourage branching out into uncharted territory. If it wasn't for the "decade" list on the Academy Award challenge, I would probably still have never watched Wings, or How Green Was My Valley. I'm not sure what the answer is; it seems like a number of people abandon the checklist altogether, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

Either way, I'm on board for running the challenge again. Hopefully, we still have a good number of participants.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

While I no longer have Hulu Plus, and my Criterion selection of DVDs is rather limited, I do plan to participate this year.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

:thumbsup:

I'd have to go back and read the previous discussion threads, but my memory of it is that in the discussion thread near the end of the month we find ourselves sharing ideas of what we might find to maximize our checks. Even that still promotes some discussion, even if it's just a matter of simplistic recommendations (or advisories to avoid a given movie).

Criterion is one of the few challenges where I think the checklist is just about perfect. Of course, having said that...I do have an idea or two. ;)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

:thumbsup:

Looks like we had around 35 participants last year...and that's been pretty consistent. I just hopped on a 2-month free trial of Hulu Plus to coincide with the challenge.

I was looking back through the checklist and then I sorted through the Criterion database pretty extensively. You can get this checklist done in about 16-20 films, so I think that's plenty accessible. I'll try and get the discussion thread up in the next few days so that we can discuss any immediate items or ideas.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Sweet. Criterion has become my favorite challenge. (Don't tell TV on DVD* or Historical Appreciation.)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Criterion Discussion Thread is up. I plan to fine tune some of the language, but I wanted to get the discussion rolling earlier rather than later.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I've been thinking and have come to a decision. While the Sci Fi and Animation Challenges are long way off, I think I only have the oomph to run one or the other. I think the reason I watched hardly anything during the Animation Challenge was due to being burnt out from running two challenges back to back. What I would like to know is if there are any volunteers to run one or the other Challenges? If there are more than one volunteer, I would be willing to step down from both Challenges.

My apologies to those who said I did a great job running both Challenges, but I just don't have it in me to run two Challenges back to back anymore.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

^ You rocked them both shadokitty! While I think it's too soon to be willing to step down from one, let alone both, I'm sure someone will step up.

Everyone, don't forget that right about now we're starting about twelve hours of double secret bonus time! Watch any of the many Criterion horror titles and get credit for both Challenges from dusk today to dawn tomorrow.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I think you did great running both challenges! But, I can understand not wanting to do both.

I'd be willing to volunteer to host...having participated in two challenges now, I feel I have a pretty good handle on it. I'm not sure what I'll be doing in a year as I have a few things I'm thinking about doing right now, but don't think it should be a problem for me to host it either way.

Whoops-I'm talking about the animation challenge there, almost forgot to mention that.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Thanks for stepping up LJG, if you need any help along the way, I'll be glad to offer advice.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Thanks! I probably will need it! :)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Any word on the comedy challenge? I know that the time for it is coming up fairly soon.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I just messaged DX to see if he wants to run it again. If not, I'll just throw it up if no one else volunteers.

Also, The Monkees has put up the annual Holiday Challenge thread!

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Yeah, I guess I'll do it - unless someone who hasn't run one before wants to volunteer. I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. I was about to bump this thread and see if there was still any interest in it (especially since the Holiday Challenge thread is already up).

I'll start a discussion thread tomorrow if no one volunteers before then.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I might be interested in doing sci-fi, but obviously it's about half a year too early to decide for sure.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Way too damn early for a Holiday thread. MADNESS!

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I noticed Christmas stuff up in several stores already. More madness!

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

My next door neighbor has a Christmas tree up and a "let it snow" banner hanging from his door. Fucking whackjob.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

A couple of years ago, my neighbors started leaving their Christmas lights up year round and they're hooked up to a motion sensor. A car driving past on their side of the road is close enough to make them come on for awhile.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Remember that the holiday challenge starts a week before the beginning of December, so it's just a little less insane to post the thread than it might seem.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

The 3rd Annual November Comedy Challenge thread is up. Three weeks before it starts is pretty early for me. :)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

The Big Lots here has had Christmas *trees* out for at least a month and put out lights, yard decorations, etc. out a couple of weeks ago! I keep waiting for stores to just put the holiday stuff in a back corner and leave it up year 'round, moving it to the front during its specific season.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I'm not putting pressure to put it up before your ready Travis. I'm just curious as to when to start looking for the TV on DVD Challenge thread.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Wow, no need to get angry. I didn't mean for you to do it today. As I said, I was merely curious.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

It was a joke. If you click on it, you'll find it takes you to the very thread you wanted! :)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding. :)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

So you can't blame me for this idea, but in case you Challengers didn't notice, we started our first DVDTalk Annual Challenge.

Basic idea is to try to watch at least one item a day, and make it related to that date. I'm also going to try to make mine monthly Challenge compliant.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I know you seemed to have taken over the first annual challenge Trevor, so I'm just curious as to whether there will be an Action/Adventure Challenge this year? No big deal either way. Like I said, I'm just curious.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Wow, time is flying this year!

Here's the discussion thread.

I still need to do last year's results. I'm a slacker.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Once again I'm starting to run out of character space in my signature (mainly because I'm a bit anal and want to have a link for every challenge list there) and am in need of either paring it down or looking at other solutions. The first thing that came to mind is this:

Are there any forum rules that preclude starting a thread solely to hold information that overflows a signature? Specifically - I'm thinking viable solution might be to start a thread, "Bob O'Link's Challenge Lists", for example and simply put links to Challenge viewings lists in the first post along with general comments about the various challenges/years. *Then* simply link to that thread in the signature.

Or would it be better to simply put a post here with that information and just link to it instead. Either serves the same purpose but putting it here seems to have less of a chance of major issues and/or being locked for some reason.

Or... a *general* Challenge Lists thread for everyone to do the same. Something like this thread but it would be more like a giant list thread with each participant only putting links to their challenge lists in their post.

Thoughts?

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I just link to the most recent challenge list, which includes links to all previous years of that challenge in which I participated. I would definitely be in favor of a least creating a single list thread for us to maintain an index post apiece linking to all our challenges. Something like:

Official DVD Talk Participation Indices

Each of us would get a single post, just as we get in each challenge list thread. Tarfrimmer would have the best looking index, of course.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

This is the way I do it too. If I want to look at an earlier list, it's just one more click.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Couldn't you just use one of those URL shortening services and then use that in your signature to link to your lists? It will be tedious to do, but you only have to do it once.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I think there's a rule against using link shorteners on the forum. Plus, at best you're just saving some characters in the html code portion of the signature. That might buy you a few extra challenges, but now that we've got so many of them going in their second and third years, the links are a-pilin' up for the consummate participants.

Anyway, even for those of us who aren't trying to squeeze into our signatures every challenge we've done, I think there's some appeal to having an index thread where we can link to all of our challenges. And, really, where's the harm? The forum is chock full of threads that have run their course without most members ever chiming in or even reading in a lot of cases. I don't see any reason not to have one dedicated to the challenges. It's through them, after all, that I and I think several others have built and fostered our sense of community here the last few years.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

I also went to the single-year method when I ran out of characters, but I am constantly reminded that I need to update it.

I don't see the harm in creating such a compendium thread. At worst it would be shut down, and it'd be a nice overview for those of us who use it.

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Obviously, I'm all for a new Challenge thread. ;)

Re: "Official" DVDTalk Challenges Compendium
 

Trevor will need to make a new compendium thread to collect all the compendium threads. :)