Another Act of Whimsy: Choose Cory Doctorow’s Face!
Posted on January 14, 2013 Posted by John Scalzi 47 Comments
As you know, a bunch of us science fiction and fantasy authors have gotten together to raise funds for Jay Lake and participate in Acts of Whimsy. When the fundraiser passed $35,000 a particular act of whimsy was unlocked from writer, Boing Boinger and Internet raconteur Cory Doctorow. That act:
Cory will release a a CC-BY scan of his head while recreating any funny expression that John “Rubberface” Scalzi can photograph himself making, and post a 3D scan doing so.
Well. I can make many funny expressions.
However, why should I have all the fun? I shouldn’t! And therefore I have created a poll in which you — yes, you! — will choose the expression that Cory Doctorow’s 3D scan will wear.
Here are the expressions for your choosing:
Classics, all.
Now: Choose! But choose wisely.
The poll runs until, oh, let’s say noon (Eastern) on Wednesday, January 16. At that time, the form shall be chosen! The Doctorow will express it! It shall be scanned! And the End Times shall be nigh.
Or, you know. There’ll be a funny scan of Cory Doctorow’s head. Same diff.
You both have pretty funny heads to begin with. Who’d notice?
(that’s snark, btw.)
John, you look remarkably like Simon Pegg when you do “The Classic Pucker.” I’m pretty sure that’s a compliment. Also, I’ll be impressed if Cory can point his eyes in different directions like that. It seems like a fairly unusual skill.
I can’t remember what I was expected upon waking this morning, but it was not this. Now I clean the nose-filtered coffee from my desk.
Ergh, editing artifacts kill me again. “Expecting”.
Wow! I used to think I was the only person who just read the blog, scanned the comments, and shut up because I had nothing to add. 243 votes and only 2 commenters. (well, three now)
Definitely The Full Nicholson, but only because that is my name.
What’s a “CC-BY scan”? A google search only got me some radio frequency scanning stuff.
Thanks, John, for not including any of those faces when you did the recent pose-offs. Because, as bad as the pose-offs were, any of these would have added a whole new level of nightmares for me.
@ioresult: CC-BY is the loosest Creative Commons license: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CC-BY#Original_licenses
My vote’s for the angry grandpa.
CC-by(attribution) is a Creative Commons licensing that allows re-use so long as you follow the attribution rules set out by the original creator of the work, I think*… So the work would be a 3-D rendering of Cory Doctorow doing THE ANGRY GRANDPA!
COME ON, PEOPLE, IT’S THE BEST FACE!
*Let me know if that’s wrong!
“Snide Fish” would be an excellent band name.
@Greg: Expecting, or expectorating?
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man face? I mean, if we’re going to choose the form, we might as well go with the classic.
Why doesn’t anyone do The Sensible Shopper anymore?
Well, crap. Between these and the Jim C. Hines cover duel pictures, how will you ever choose which one to use as your next dust jacket Author Photo??
The choices! Gah!!
Okay, I like The Angry Grandpa and I absolutely love The Full Nicholson, but I think that The Snide Fish would prove the most challenging (and fun) for him to duplicate… there’s just so much going on there!
I voted for The Snide Fish, but I think that the Angry Grandpa pic should be used as the author photo for the hardcover edition of The Human Division.
You can’t make Angry Grandpa face yet, you’re not a Grandpa…. (yet)
I think the snide fish best captures Cory’s attitudes to DRM..
One Snide Fish to go, please.
hugh57: “I voted for The Snide Fish, but I think that the Angry Grandpa pic should be used as the author photo for the hardcover edition of The Human Division.”
Oh, John… This is a beautiful idea. I dare ye, laddie.
That’s really something! I’ve never seen anyone before who could cross just one eye!
page down, page down, page down, … there’s no John Scalzi Is Not Amused? Her fifteen days of internet fame must be over. Bye, McKayla!
So … Snide Fish.
What I want to know is with ‘The Angry Grandpa’ and ‘The Snide Fish’, how do you do that thing with the eyes. That’s awesome. Oh, my pick: The Snide Fish. Excuse me while I go find a mirror.
Snide Fish made me giggle so much that my 11 month old started giggling, too. This makes it a clear winner!
I like the face you did for the pose-off with Jim Hines. The question is whether the 3-D printer can do a blonde wig for Cory or if it’ll all be one color.
Being that my last name IS Nicholson, I’ll leave it as an exercise to suss out which one I voted for.
OK, so I voted for the fish, but it was a really, really hard choice…
I used to practice crossing one eye as a kid, but never got very good at it. Now that I’m an old lady (coughmidthirtiescough), I have no interest in picking up that skill. Hopefully Cory can do it, though — I’m rooting for grandpa! Although… I think if you did a mash-up of angry grandpa and pucker, you’d get Grandpa Simpson…
Snide fish!
I voted Angry Grandpa b/c I don’t know if Cory can actually do Snide Fish. But, if he can’t, that’ll be funny too.
The mouth on Grandpa is compelling but I must say that ultimately The Snide Fish won my vote for the epic crazy eyes.
Snide Fish, for the difficulty level!
Thanks for the precision, @patrick and @protospork. I should have realized that because Cory Doctorow and Creative Commons always come bundled together.
No love for The Full Nicholson? C’mon!
Oh you damn bastard.
You have so much hair.
I hate you.
Why isn’t any of it silver.
Sob.
That’s “Sob!!”
Not ‘SOB.’
Although….
Photoshop anyone?
I’d avoid The Full Nicholson – not even Jack can pull it off anymore and Doctorow needs to have his head in good working order at all times.
How long will Doctorow have to hold this facial expression? These faces will represent some serious facial muscle challenges. This is not your JV rubber facing, here. I hope someone has researched some facial limbering exercises he can do. Or, at least have some Face EMTs on scene.
I worry, is all. I’m a worrier.
Everybody knows you never go full Nicholson.
I really REALLY want to see Cory do the Snide Fish.
Have we looked at how much it would cost to get all Science Fiction authors genomes scanned? I am only looking at Hugo and Nebula nominees. Perhaps we could identify the gene for writing with imagination. Then we could breed for that gene, getting more and better stories. If the gene is dominant, then we could supplant Congress with forward looking Science Fiction writers willing to research those tough issues long before they reach critical mass. We could even find new untapped talents, tapping them and running them dry in no time. We could give those people priority for tickets to all the major conventions, World Con, World Fantasy Con, and Comic Con.
If we find there is a financially successful author without the Science Fiction gene, he/she could be shunned and banned from Amazon and the New York Times bestseller lists. They would be forced to write mainstream experimental fiction or romance hybrid fiction (a la Stephanie Meyer). We could distill the best of science fiction and surpass the days of Heinlein, Asimov, Campbell and other guys who for some reason have stopped writing quality science fiction.
@Rob Meyer
Uh, I think “Heinlein, Asimov, Campbell” stopped writing ’cause they’re dead.
Full genome scanning…. Famous sci-fi writers…. I smell —
Old Man’s AuthorFest
Very awesome John and love the final choice. Also, enjoyed the hell out of Redshirts – keep em coming!
First quiz I’ve ever taken where there was NO WRONG CHOICE. Nice.