It’s pretty amazing how an idea (like yours) can spread and who is touched by it.
Looking forward to seeing how those, who we know from a completely different environment/context, apply the idea (you came up) that brought us to Glowforge.
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Thanks for sharing! If you, or any staff thinks of anything else, I think we’d all enjoy the addition!
- Tom
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Nothing from STARK Industries yet ?
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Okay… So Big Bang Theory… Let’s see… What else… Maybe Arrow or any DC show, really, and most Marvel shows. Some sort of “tech” show maybe.
Man… If Big Bang Theory gets one, this cat is out of the bag for sure. No more being the only kid on the block with the coolest laser.
- Tom
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Oh man, now I want to know who they are! But wait…what if they’ve been secretly on the forums this whole time under a fake name 
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Yeah… You can’t convince me that “Crusher” isn’t really Wil Wheaton. And “Evader” isn’t really James Earl Jones.
- Tom
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Oh snap! That would be fun! 
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Never been a fan of opportunity TV shows. The risk/reward ratio is, as a rule, heavily tilted toward the show’s ratings. In other words, it doesn’t matter that your product is a loser or a winner, it only matters that the show looks exciting through the magic of editing. Often not an honest portrayal or review.
Years ago, one of my coworkers contacted the Dr. Phil TV show about a personal relationship. The staff producers spent a good deal of time convincing her that America would love her story, agree with her point of view, and nothing but good would occur. The day the show aired she quit her job and quickly moved out of State from the humiliation.
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Not surprised that your friend got skunked. Sorry to hear it though. 
My mom’s big on shows like “The Voice” and “The Singers from Timbuktu” and “Somebody’s got Talent”.
She votes, and frets over who wins, and I dare not call while one of them is on. The fix is probably in from the time of auditions - the one who wins is the one that will make the most money for the producers. The whole show thing is just to gauge the current mood of the country. And sometimes they miss. (That part is pretty funny.)
Keeps her happily occupied though, so I don’t bother to point it out. Different strokes. 
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I agree with your opinions on those shows. However, a friend of a friend went on Shark Tank and got torn apart by the panel. After the show aired, they said it was all worth it because of the doors that opened for them as a result of that exposure. That’s still not enough incentive for me to ever consider going on any of those shows - or even watching them.
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My brother was on one called “Restaurant Startup.” He always says what the producers do is set up situations and record the real reactions. They did stuff like tell him he had half-an-hour to get ready for service, so he’d go to get dressed for front-of-house waiter-type stuff and they’d bang on the door 5 minutes later when he’s in his undies or whatever and tell him service is starting. Then they’d edit things to make it look like he is overly concerned about his appearance to the point that it interferes with things. Don’t get me wrong, he does take some time on that kind of thing, but the show drew a characature of that aspect of him. On the positive side, they won and are doing fine a couple of years later. He’s the ugly mug on the left of the video preview (I assume everyone sees the same thing?)
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They’ve got to gin up some drama or no one would watch. Seems silly, but it must work…the shows are certainly more popular than I can account for. All those bachelor/bachelorette/weightloss/etc. etc. etc. shows… some of them are cringe-inducing.
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Hearing about everything that goes on behind the scenes of “reality” shows is so fascinating to me. I had a friend who told me about how someone they knew tried out for The Voice, and the interviewers actually told the person that they weren’t being considered because they didn’t have enough of a dramatic/sad backstory!
Gotta admit though, I love all the design contest shows…Inkmaster, Project Runway, Skin Wars- at least all the projects created seem sincere, though I’m sure the producers make sure to tell the contestants to amp up the drama in all the personal interactions 
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wonder if @dan was asked to be a contestant… or a guest shark.
I have a friend/neighbor who was featured on Nat Geo’s Live Free Or Die. I remember him complaining about how the producers were always trying to set up situations that would be dramatic, like asking him to ride his mule from Ward to Nederland via Sugarloaf trail when it was buried under 3 feet of snow for a more extreme-looking shot (he did not).
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A couple years back, I got a call from somebody doing a show on smart/maker kids. Had the sense to watch some of the first season before responding, and it turned out to be pretty much about putting 10-year-olds in super-high-pressure memorization situations with a side order of showcasing parents who complained that some particular decision had been stacked against their kid. No, thanks.
(Oh, and the NDA that came with the contract was pretty amazing – you were pretty much barred for life from so much as admitting that the show existed without prior clearance from the production company.)
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Contestants are chosen based solely on their inability to distinguish situations which may do them harm
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I know several of the contestants on both Skin Wars and Faceoff. TV makes them out very different than they really are. Sad but the producers take things out of context for more drama…
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I was wondering if maybe you knew anyone from Skin Wars!! Their work is so amazing, I would love to try and dabble in the body painting world. Honestly I think that show has some of the least amount of drama to it so far- Inkmaster is by far the worst in that category hahaha.
Also, happy cake day!
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My wife loves that show. And so many other tattoo-related shows. What really ticks me off about that show are things like “Hey, this is a tattoo show, but how about you try creating art with… oh… electricity.” Because somehow that makes any kind of sense. You don’t ask a piano player to pick up a flute! And then they say things like “Your work has been amazing all of this time, but tonight you suck so you’re going home now.” As if all of the amazing work means nothing. Jeez!
Okay… Breathing… Breathing… I gotta go have a yogurt now.
- Tom
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