The Dark Knight Rises Viral Campaign

By now I'm sure everyone knows that filming has begun on The Dark Knight Rises. It just happens that there is also a viral campaign going on today. Earlier this morning, geek news sites began prompting their Twitter followers to tweet #thefirerises and to check out this image for The Dark Knight Rises. A magnifying glass appears and allows the viewer to see that the forming image is made up of Twitter profile pictures. If you scan the picture, it is possible to find your own picture. I found mine:

The full picture has materialized quite a bit since I first joined in on the fun. Almost immediately, the same news sites that began the buzz regarding this viral campaign had access to an unaltered version of the picture that we were constructing with our Twitter profile pictures.

As you can see, this is the first picture of Tom Hardy as Bane in the upcoming film The Dark Knight Rises. Many of us have been wondering how exactly Christopher Nolan is going to pull off a good Bane story, but I am sure that most of us are still childishly giddy to see such an impressive representation of Bane as this.

Now, I've decided to use The Dark Knight Rises viral campaign for my own purposes. I have been working on a side project, and the only way for you to find out more about it is to check out The Dark Knight Rises web site and search for this picture:

Feel free to leave your comments regarding either my viral campaign or The Dark Knight Rises viral campaign here.

Cavemengo Anecdotes - Adam Friedli

Justin Tiemeyer saved my life. That’s what I told Justin’s girlfriend, Amy, the night they first met. I do tend to play wingman in a very extravagant way. But when I said this, it was an absolute truth. In fact, this has been true on more than one occasion. The first time was when he gave me guidance while I took some time off from school because my life basically got turned upside down. But I want to concentrate on the other time Justin was there for me.

I was still getting over my first big breakup. I really didn’t know what to do. Justin and I talked a lot online during this period, and he really started to open up to me about his past. Way more than usual. We were already fantastic friends, but this was a different side of him I had never seen. And part of his advice he gave was to find some creative outlets. So I thought about things I had wanted to work on for quite some time. That’s when I realized I had never gotten into photo editing. I decided to give it a shot.

Well, if any of you have followed Cavemen Go for awhile, you might have seen how that endeavor worked out. I have always done my photo editing projects for the entertainment of just me and my friends. They might not look like much, but I have a blast doing them. And when Justin started posting them on his blog, I was floored! I never expected that, and it really gave me an extra sense of accomplishment seeing them presented on his blog.

Justin played a large part in opening up my creativity and helping to piece me back together again. Twice. I’m a far better person for it, and I’m really fortunate in having him as a part of my life. Thanks for creating Cavemen Go, and thanks for blazing a trail of glory wherever you go. And Amy’s totally radical too.

Cavemengo's One Year Anniversary!

I have difficulty expressing how grateful I am that so many of you have followed Cavemengo, but on her one year anniversary I feel inclined, especially if I wish to call myself a writer, to express that gratefulness in words.

It would be difficult to thank each individual who has made this experience fantastic for me. First, I would like to say that my love goes out to, but is not limited to, each and every one of you reading these words. Second, I want to celebrate you, me and the blog we share with a series of anniversary posts. Expect to see these within the next few hours:

CAVEMENGO: YEAR ONE

I've stolen the title from the Frank Miller comic Batman: Year One, but where that comic tells the origin of Jim Gordon and his ally Batman, Cavemengo: Year One is dedicated to my influences, the blogs and bloggers who made the first year of Cavemengo possible.

CAVEMENGO ANECDOTES

Several friends of Cavemengo, including graphic artist Adam Friedli, have agreed to write short anecdotes regarding their time spent with the blog and some of the events that led up to particular blog posts. It takes a village, and I think it is fantastic that some of the village people are speaking out.

CAVEMENGO: YEAR TWO

Cavemengo: Year Two is a look forward to what Cavemengo's second year holds in store for all of us. I've got some big projects coming up and I'd love it if you could be there with me when they come to fruition.

If you've been silently reading the blog, now is the time to let your voice be heard, be it a celebration or a criticism. Drop me a comment. Subscribe. Heck, unsubscribe if I'm not doing you right. Share Cavemengo with your friends. Tody I want to know who is out there, so make yourself known to Cavemengo in some overt way. Once I know you're out there it will be that much easier to send my love your way.

Adam Friedli's Aqua Post-Adolescent Hunger for Local Cuisine Team Force

or: How I Gave Up on Finding a Better Title and Learned to Love the Ludicrosity

In this photo: Justin Tiemeyer, Adam Friedli, But maybe not, Matthew Lunn, I'll let you judge, Amy Bolan

Adam Friedli's Memories That Are Totally Real 2

In this photo: Justinyote: Creativious Awesomosius, Justin, Amy Runner: Femalious Mostexcellentacius, Amy

Justin and Amy are pretty big fans of the outdoors. If they are not, then I have no idea why they were doing this. It wouldn't make any sense. But since this does make sense, they were playing their usual game of who can get to dinner first. And they always freeze-frame while doing this and look into what I suppose is a camera. But there is never a camera there. If something doesn't make sense, it's that. And let's talk about what they make appear as their captions under their names. Seriously. Can you get ANY more egotistical than that? But they're both good people. I'll let it slide. Again.

In this photo: Amy, Justin

Oh man. I remember this. He totally tripped while running at superhuman speeds to beat Amy to dinner. This. This right here. This is EXACTLY why you are always told NOT to run with sharp objects. Look what happens. They get stuck in the pavement. The fact that this can even happen means Justin really knows how to shop. Can your fork and knife do this? No way. So for all of your utensil shopping needs, consult Justin "Awesome, my knife is in the pavement!" Tiemeyer. He's got you covered. But this isn't even the point. And yes, I have a point on its way. That's the whole point of memories anyway, isn't it? Well, don't run with sharp objects, because there is no way he ever got those out of the pavement. They're probably still there somewhere on I-96. And I guess you could lose a hand or an eye too. Too much screwing around...

In this photo: Justin, Amy

Amy: "So...whatcha planning on doing with that anvil?"
Justin: "..."


Amy: "I've never known you to have any interest in anvils."
Justin: "..."


Amy: "It would almost seem like you are trying to hide something from me."
Justin: "..."
He was. He was hiding some presents in the anvil. He didn't think she would be so suspicious. He still looks pretty normal to me. His cover is still perfectly intact.


Amy: "Why are you hiding presents from me?"
Justin: "..."
Crap...


And that's how Amy ruined AND killed Christmas all at the same time, simultaneously, in one fell swoop. Wait...no. No, that was a different time. And possibly a different person altogether. I don't even remember this.

In this photo: Adam, Justin, Amy

Unfortunately for Justin, white men CAN jump. He wasn't sure if he could do it, but he did. Amy and I were definitely impressed, even though we appear to be looking at something on the ground? I don't understand. Why, if someone had just jumped clean through solid rock with their head, would you not be looking at that? ... Oh, I remember now! It's pretty hard to stay cool after smashing through elevated earth crust like he did, so Justin tried to lessen the blow by telling a joke. He was like, "Hey Adam, I bet this nearly made you lose your head..." Amy thought it was in pretty bad taste. I personally thought it was hilarious. But it's a little difficult to not look at the ground when you're in my position.

In this photo: Adam, Justin, Amy

Knowing what to expect, Justin readied himself to jump again. And this time, we all decided to look as cool as we possibly could while it happened. Did we succeed? I don't know. Do trains live inside of mountains until a tunnel is painted on the outside to release them? Yup. Just look at those glasses. There is nothing keeping them on Justin's face except the rule of magnetism between two entities of awesome. And no scratches either. Amazing. This rule of magnetism applies to people as well. How else could Justin and Amy have found each other so easily? From this picture alone, I mean, memory alone, it is plain to see how well they gel together. Anyway, we were all looking pretty ice cold that day. What was I doing? Well, I wanted to look up and look cool at the same time, so I did a flip for the sole purpose of looking up. You can have your fancy necks. I flip to look up.

In this photo: Amy

Being so remarkably cooler than cool gets exhausting after awhile, so Amy decided to call it a night. Which in hindsight was weird, because it was still daytime. I guess it's always daytime here though. Interesting... So, on her walk home she noticed something peculiar on the ground. A bowl of seeds with a sign sticking out of it? Nah, there's nothing weird about this. She went to check it out. It read, "More free lovin." Ah, she thought, it must be from Justin! And it was. He was working earlier to get this gift ready for her as a surprise. She realized she couldn't wait until tomorrow and had to tell him immediately that she found it and how much she loved the subtle reference...

In this photo: Justin, The Power of Unwanted Biological Regeneration, Amy

Amy: "So, were you sowing something earlier today?"
Justin: "Whatever do you mean, my dear?"
He was doing his best to hide his growing smirk by keeping his face focused on his book.

It didn't work. His smile was wider than a size 1500-font capital "W".

She made his head spin so fast up from his book that it made his hair stand up on end and emulate the shape of a human hand. With nail polish. There are ways. You don't wanna know about it, believe me.

In this photo: Amy, Justin

Justin gets the craziest ideas sometimes. And that is why we all love him of course. But come on. How many times have his purchases from ACME worked as advertised? Actually, what advertising do they have? I have never seen an ACME infomercial before. Have you? What is their advertising budget? Do they have one? Obviously that crazy coyote on TV orders their products...wait. Whoa. Those cartoons...are the infomercials. Holy crap.

Amy: "Are you sure you know what you are doing?"
Justin: "I already philosophized the outcome and combined it with Prince and LOST. I can't lose."


Amy: "Even though your tail that you really shouldn't have is on fire?"
Justin: "Yes. That is all part of it. This is the best way to light the fuse."


Amy: "Did you read the manual?"
Justin: "There wasn't one. I philosophized my own, and I am following it exactly. This includes the glasses and hat."


Amy: "What hat?"
Justin: "It was too small, so I tied it around my head. I'll give you a head start, on my mark..."


Amy: "Ok. You be careful. And what mark?"
Justin: "Oh, you'll know."


Justin: "Ready...set...NIETZSCHE!!!!!"

In this photo: Justin, Amy

Well, Justin ended up being just fine, because he found his Delightfully (you can't see this since it is around the other side of the hat) Malevolent Times hat. And it turns out, the lack of said hat is the only reason the coyote runs into as many problems as he does. Remarkable. What a day it's been. And for you too. To have all the known properties of physics unabashedly bashed to bits must be unrelentingly entertaining. Now how did all this end?

Amy: "Where are we going?"
Justin: "We still need dinner right?"


Amy: "Absolutely. To your house?"
Justin: "Sounds marvelous."


Amy: "What are we having?"
Justin: "How about...cool beans?"


Amy: "Cool beans?"
Justin: "Yes. With Arnold."


Amy: "So like, Cool Beans." (said in classic Schwarzenegger fashion)
Justin: "Ha, yes. Cool Beans." (also said in classic Schwarzenegger fashion)

Justin: "Remember when I promised I would love you last?"
Amy: "That's right, Justin! You did!"


Justin: "...I lied..."

In this photo: Tom

(cue a theme that is both looney and also a little bit tuney)
Tom: "Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all, folks! Serirousry. That's it. Look how seririrous I am. I scoff at the English language. That. Is. It. You know that one guy, Serial Sam? My favorite breakfast is Serial Sam Cereal with bits of real Serial, so you know it's good."

Adam Friedli's Memories That Are Totally Real*

*Full title that was too long to be a title: Memories That Are Totally Real, and Not Fake, Because Why Else Would I Call Them Memories, Memories

In this photo: Real Hair, Justin, It's All Real

So, there was this one time when Justin was like, "Amy, come out and play-ay..." It was pretty comical, because he didn't say "play" like you usually would say it.

Ha.

In this photo: Still Pretty Real, Justin

However, this didn't get the response he was looking for. "I'll need to try this from a different...'angle'..." he thought by speaking out loud at a different angle. So...then...and then Justin came up with an idea! "Hehehe, see, here I'm now by myself, uh, uhhh talking to myself..."

In this photo: Listening for The Safety Dance, but found Justin instead., Amy, A Real Light. This is how you know I am telling the truth.

"Hey! That's...that's chaos theory!!!" sprouted Amy, who also just happened to be in this frozen tundra maze. They both agreed the maze was unsafe and far too cold, and...wait...what was up with Justin's hair? And that's the story of how Justin and Amy met.

In this photo: Very Effective and Warm Coat, Justin

Do you remember that one time when I dared Justin to not sit in the snow for hours on end but he did it anyway just to demonstrate his philosophizing skills? Well, guess who's philosophizing now?! Justin, because he's still alive. This picture was caught in mid-sneeze. It's confusing that way, but that was part of his philosophizing process he told me. He said it also demonstrated his immense love for Amy the best. Ah yes, I thought, because that is the face of a man in love if I ever saw one.

In this photo: Jared, He's in the woods if you look VERY closely. Look closelier., Adam, Amy, Justin

Oh man. Road trips and airplane food, am I right? Probably. And probably this was one of the best trips ever conceived by anyone. We were heading to...NOT Medieval Times. I remember that much because Amy was saying, "Why is Adam wearing that Medicinal Times hat? Am I right?" Then Justin said, "We better watch out because I'm driving here and I forgot to bring my Marginal Times hat that helps me find proper directions. Am I left?" I just kept scrunching my face and moving my beard, because that seemed like the right thing to do. And that's the story of Amy and Justin's first date. I know, because I was there.

In this photo: The 2nd UNO Night, Interstellar Water Bottle, Amy, The Power to Destroy Heavenly Bodies, Justin, UNO Night, Maybe a Bit of a Couch

Back in the year 2000, there was this undiscovered astronomical phenomenon that defied all logic of time and space. We'll call it a "star." Jump forward to 2006. Nothing happened. Now go to 2009. Stuff happened, but not good enough. Now go to 2010. We're already there. Guess what? You just traveled through time. How? Well, you were in "now" a little while ago. But now, You're in NOW now. Where is that? It's right here. And here...here is where the story takes place. But what's a story? It's a collection of truths. Like when Justin and Amy blasted apart a star. You didn't hear? So check it out. They caused a supernova...with their love. And some Champagne. It's crazy, I know. It's crazy. But you want to know the craziest part? Get ready. UNO Night...without any UNO. What is that?! It's still an UNO Night. Exactly. Well, luckily none of this madness ever happened again, because you can only blow up a star once like that...

...or can you?

Thus concludes the first installation of Adam Friedli's Memories That Are Totally Real. I've received word that there are several more forthcoming story arcs in the series, so stay tuned to Cavemengo for more from Adam Friedli.

Arts and Crafts: Concert Ticket Refrigerator Magnets

A few months ago, I received some junk mail containing some propaganda packaged with a peel-off magnet. I think the assumption was that you would stick the magnet to the propaganda and put it on your refrigerator. I saw little value in the propaganda, but great value in the magnet. This was the product:

That Foreigner ticket I'd held onto long after it was scanned at the concert now had a purpose. It currently holds up my grocery and to-do lists. I am writing today to share with you the secret wisdom of the ages, so that you too can have a Foreigner (or other band/artist) concert ticket refrigerator magnet.

Step 1: Acquire Magnets (I always have to stop myself from saying, "Cut a hole in the box." Curse you, Timberlake! Curse you!)

I opened every single inane letter addressed either to me or to some misspelled version of me or to resident for several months and didn't find another magnetic backing that I could use, so I journeyed to Hobby Lobby with my good friend Gabe. You might be better off going to a smaller store, like Michael's, because Hobby Lobby is incredibly large (especially in Texas). The first difficulty with Hobby Lobby is that you are bombarded by novelty and holiday items when you walk in. You have to cut through these like one would a kudzu in order to find anything of worth. The second difficulty is that the aisles are not labeled. This particular store appeared to spend all it's money renting out the gigantic building and very little on staffing the gigantic building. Eventually, I found an employee who pointed me to the magnets. They were overpriced, but at least I had (unlike Bono) found what I was looking for.

Step 2: Acquire a Concert Ticket

For many of you, this could be the hardest part. I have particular difficulty finding affordable nearby concerts with artists good enough to grace my refrigerator forever. In some of my peer groups, I would imagine I am looked upon as something of a hipster. I don't particularly understand it, but then again, I like Arcade Fire and Bright Eyes. I dislike Screamo. I tell my metal-loving friends that they should be listening to Muse and The Mars Volta instead. I don't blatantly disregard indie music as worthless. Having this opinion of me, they might look upon my Foreigner magnet and sense irony. Here's where they're dead wrong. Foreigner is sweet.

And so is Tears for Fears. This is Adam Friedli's ticket from the recent Tears for Fears concert in Detroit. Adam was unable to go to this concert due to a serious injury in the family. Amy and I had our tickets torn, but there was one ticket left intact due to Adam's absence.

Step 3: Peel and Stick

Peel back the paper on the back of the magnet to reveal the adhesive side. I've always found this fascinating. One side sticks due to magnetic attraction, the other due to chemical adhesion. Two different ways, one result. Cohesion!

Now stick the magnet to the back of the concert ticket. In most cases, the magnet is going to be larger than the concert ticket by a minuscule amount. I chose to leave the slight overlap, as it is pretty insignificant. These magnets, however, are designed to be thin enough that you can cut them. If you want to trim it so it's smaller than the ticket, go right ahead. In order to align the magnet properly, I placed it on the table and then slowly lowered the ticket onto the adhesive side.

Step 4: Place Finished Magnet on Refrigerator

This beautiful new Tears for Fears refrigerator magnet won't be on my refrigerator for long. I hate to ruin the surprise, but this one is a gift for my good friend Adam Friedli. I'll be giving it to him when I visit College Station next week. It's not quite the same as remembering being on the floor looking up at one of the most underrated amazing music sensations of all time, but at least it can hold up his picture of his parents. Or that weird drawing I made of the topless redneck woman holding two 40s of Colt 45.

Tears For Fears Tribute to Adam Friedli

My girlfriend and I were supposed to see Tears For Fears with good friend Adam Friedli at the Motor City Casino Hotel in Detroit, but when Adam's father was severely injured Adam's duty to family trumped his duty to fun and adventure with his friends as it rightly should. We went to the concert, however, and celebrated Adam Friedli. I even convinced Tears For Fears to sing "So Friedli" at the end of Woman in Chains instead of "So Free Her."

Well, not really, but that's what I heard in my head, and that's what you should hear when you watch this video. Adam, I celebrate you today, and so do Curt and Roland from Tears For Fears. They don't know who you are, but I've retconned the story to make it seem that way. For your sake, my lovely man!

Adam Friedli's Happy Birthday Rick

For his birthday, my father asked for one thing: a picture of his face on a baby's naked body. Well, he asked for two things: a picture of his face on a baby's naked body and a flag with the Rolling Stones lapping tongue on it. For his birthday, my father received both, thanks to artist Adam Friedli (and flag-ordering Carol Tiemeyer). From the maker of "Rewriting History" and "Charlotte Bass Lessons," I present Adam Friedli's "Happy Birthday Rick":

Adam Friedli's Charlotte Bass Lessons

My little brother recently made an exodus to the beautiful town of Charlotte, North Carolina after graduating with a BM in Music History & Musicology from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. His intention is to find some string bass students and start giving lessons, so he approached our mutual friend Adam Friedli, who you may remember from the art project "Rewriting History", to design a flier for attracting prospective students. The following picture is what resulted from the commission of this project:

Adam Friedli's Rewriting History

The other night while conversing with my good buddy Adam he kept referring to how he needed to focus on his project. Maybe I didn't listen to him properly, because I interpreted this to mean that he was working on an enormous programming assignment. The next day I noticed that his project had been posted to Facebook, some two hours after we spoke. The project was a series of pictures in which my little brother Micah can be seen wearing different sunglasses. There was something completely absurd and yet telling of the heights of human endeavor. I thought I'd share with you Adam Friedli's Rewriting History.

"This is Micah pretending to be a rear-view mirror. Those are real sunglasses, but he thought it looked better as a rear-view mirror." -AF

"Those kind of look like Morpheus sunglasses. Looking snazzy there kid." -AF

"Holy balls. Which balls? Beach balls of course. Who IS this guy?! Well, he’s Micah Paul Tiemeyer. Anything else claiming to be cool is just giving cool a bad name compared to this man. Except for Justin Tiemeyer. And Tom Mitsos. And Jamey Hungerford…and many other exceptions. But just because other cool things exist should not downplay the coolness embodied in this photo." -AF

"I’m pretty sure he got these when he was in Back to the Future Part II in Hill Valley circa 2015. In fact, he had just gotten out of the DeLorean. It’s over to the right, so unfortunately we can’t see it. Doc Brown was in a hurry to go pick up Marty from 2015 anyway." -AF

"These are from Hill Valley circa 1955 when he was in Back to the Future Part I. Why does it look like he is getting out of the DeLorean the exact same way as in the last picture you ask? Consistency. Uncompromisingly unyielding consistency. You can’t teach that, and you can’t learn that." -AF

"A wise man once said, 'NO ONE can pull this off!' He meant that anyone can pull off anything by just doing it. There is no magic “pull off” scale that grants people the power to do something. However, there is a whole lot of off being pulled right here. Inspiration incarnate." -AF

"These are orange sunglasses. They are sunglasses that contain an orange pigment. I’m not entirely sure of the story of these, but I think they have something to do with George Clinton knighting him for being a Master of Funk or something. Instead of a crown he got these sunglasses. That’s pretty Funkadelic." -AF

"These are his hypnotizing sunglasses. You best be watching yourself and your daughters when you see him wearing these. Otherwise he’ll…make everyone…do…the Safety Dance! Or he’ll just stare at you until you go away and celebrate yet another staring contest victory. You never know which one you might get." -AF

"When Micah is feeling truly victorious, he wears these. He just dropkicked a rabid polar bear not two seconds ago. He tried hypnotizing it and making it dance safely, but it rebelled and tried to drink his milkshake. It tried to drink it all up! Little did the bear know that this milkshake wasn’t his, but his lady friend’s. This despicably rude behavior earned the bear what it got. Then with his hands on his hips and looking proudly, he declared, “I’m finished!” and slowly applied his victory sunglasses to his victory face and gave his lady friend a magnificent victory kiss. Walking into the sunset, they both drank the milkshake. They drank it all up. This happened much later though since it’s clearly still in the middle of the day in the picture." -AF

"You remember the reference to beach balls? This has nothing to do with that, but now you are thinking about balls. But one time when he was wearing these sunglasses, Godzilla tried to attack this bridge. Micah wasn’t having any of that, so he looked right at the bridge stomper and turned Godzilla’s head into an exploding nuclear bomb. This is a very special ability, though, that is only reserved for every time he uses it." -AF