Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a weasel — I couldn’t pick three out of the thirty excellent submissions on the gallery. I had trouble getting it down to ten, and there are still some that I wish I could include. Here is the short list of finalists, and a web thingy you can vote with — remember, you can pick your favourite three! (You can click on the thumbnails for a larger view.)
(And if any of the artists would like to explain why their submission is superior, please feel free to do so in the comments.)
Pan-Galactic
Spindizzy
Spice
451
Palanquin
Carousel
E-Secretaries
Soma
Nexus 6
Holodeck
There are prizes!
What, pray tell is the prize? Well, if you win, you can choose from:
- a prominent walk-on role in my next novel
- a copy of THE AMADEUS NET
- a “mystery” item from within the bowels of my desk.
The second-place winner will choose from the remaining prizes, and the bronze winner gets whatever is left.
Voting ends at 8 am, April 28th!
The full gallery of entries is here. Everyone from humor-blogs.com is invited to vote early and often.
Tags: fictional futures, photoshop contest, science fiction, vintage ads
17 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link
http://markarayner.com/blog/archives/1234/trackback
April 22, 2008 at 11:00 am
bagel
Yay for us!
I’m sad that my 2 faves (Talkie Toaster and Ringworld Vacation) didn’t make the cut. I thought those folks would be shoe-ins.
April 22, 2008 at 11:45 am
Mark A. Rayner
Like I said, it was tough …
April 22, 2008 at 12:28 pm
bagel
Remember, kids: A vote for Soma is a vote for me not punching you in the neck.
April 22, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Tom Marcinko
If you vote for the spindizzy girl, she will come to your house and visit you … **but ZOMG she’s all made of teh paper and ink and cardboard eeek-eeek-eeeekkk!!!!!***
April 22, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Kit MacAllister
How can you argue with the company that invented Daryl Hannah?
April 22, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Mark A. Rayner
I must admit a certain weakness for the pinup nature of some of these old ads. Did anyone happen to catch Feng’s take on the pinup ad here:
http://www.fengtastic.com/?p=15
April 22, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Paul Baack
Free 30 day supply of Melange to all who vote for the CHOAM Corp. “Spice” entry.
Everybody here did such a great job, I’m knocked out to be in such terrific company!
April 22, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Martin McG
What could be more fun that a trip on a Carousel? And no pesky pensioners smelling of pee!
Vote early (well, before you’re 30), vote often!
April 22, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Kit MacAllister
Basically all of fengtastic is brilliant. I was rooting for the Stepford Clingwrap too.
April 23, 2008 at 3:06 am
Alex L
I have a rabbit, I will hurt it if you dont vote for me… dam my hollow threats I could never hurt the bunny.
April 23, 2008 at 9:49 am
Gary Piserchio
This is tough just picking three!!
April 23, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Chris C.
Just wanted to stop by and say congrats for this contest being featured on Neatorama! Think I should create a pic and enter….
April 25, 2008 at 6:12 am
Mark
Now, I’m not bitter.
Hmmm. Didn’t really have much of a chance there, did I? Of all the finalists, mine’s the only one chosen that wasn’t from a classic novel or among popular culture. Might have stood a chance had either of my other entries been chosen instead but I guess it wasn’t to be. Not that I’m bitter, of course.
Yours, not bitterly.
April 25, 2008 at 11:55 am
Mark A. Rayner
Hmm, sorry about that Mark. I thought it was clever, so that’s why I included it above the Ringworld one. Like I said, not an easy choice all the way around. I’m also surprised that “carousel” isn’t doing better, but then again, what the hell do I know.
April 27, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Christine Gio
Some background on the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and why it is so flippin awesome:
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy also mentions alcohol. It says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. It says that the effect of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.”
In an interview, Douglas Adams stated that there are a number of environmental and weapons treaties and laws of physics which prevent the The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from being mixed on Earth. Sounds dangerous.. just like the man pictured in the ad accessorized by a sandwich, dog, and rifle.
April 27, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Kit MacAllister
A drink like that for 5ยข is pretty amazing.
May 2, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Feng
Damn.
I am SO late to this party.
Mark: thanks for hosting the contest and linking to another piece of my so-called work.
Kit: thanks so much for compliment. It is quite rare to find anyone who understands, much less appreciates, my sense of humor … and congratulations again.
Christine: regarding the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, I will NEVER forget the line “it must be properly iced or the benzene is lost.” I will greatly miss whatever work Douglas Adams might have done had he not died so young. His last years of residence were here in my little town and I never did manage to wrangle an introduction. I wish I’d tried harder.