General
Is Ellie Coral really your real name?
No. I didn’t win the awesome name lottery when the nurses filled out my birth certificate. I didn’t even win the “thoughtful parents who carefully consider their child’s future” lottery. I do occasionally win scratchers, though, so that’s a consolation.
What is an ink tippler? Or ink tippling? What is tippling?
Years ago, I needed a clever name for a blog about writing fiction. After poring through dictionaries and thesauruses, I found the word tipple, “to drink alcohol, especially habitually”. Since I was trying to make a habit of writing, it felt like the right word to use.
Since then, I’ve been trying to make a habit of creating in general: blogging, drawing, writing scripts, and so on. And while I do tipple in creating, I don’t tipple in the traditional sense. I just don’t have the stomach for it.
Why are you reinventing this blog?
Human beings reinvent themselves all the time, so why not reinvent some online spaces? It’s just like Facebook rebranding itself as Meta, only less scummy and attention-getting.
Why don’t you allow comments on this blog?
I’d thought about allowing them, especially for the Vinesauce stuff, since I’d like to get a conversation going about those posts. But I’d be opening my blog to bots, spam, and trolls again. That’s a headache I’d like to avoid.
Besides, there’s nothing wrong with email. Maybe it’s because I’m old-school internet, but I do enjoy an email conversation. These days, however, it seems that most people prefer social media.
Just a question: is it that people are afraid that they can’t be anonymous through email? Nothing is stopping you from making a throwaway Gmail account with a made-up name. For all I care, FunkBelunksiTheFifth@gmail.com could be who he says he is; all I’d care about is if he can hold a stirring conversation.
Or is it because of the anonymous factor that people would prefer blog comments? Folks, with a few simple tricks, I can find your IP address, internet provider, and possibly even your username(s) on a troll/stalking forum. You’re not entirely faceless in this digital world.
Why don’t you reveal your real name?
Is it that big a deal? You probably couldn’t pronounce it or spell it correctly on the first try, anyway. I can guarantee that if you put in the effort to dig up that information, the result will leave you so underwhelmed, you’ll wonder why you ever exerted the effort.
Vinesauce: The Questening
What the hell is a questening?
It’s a word I made up on the fly when I was describing this project as a quest. My brain decided to shove the word questioning in there; it likes to mix words up in my head, especially while I’m speaking or writing. But it’s an apt combination: a quest for the first video while questioning along the way. Perhaps even questioning my life’s choices, but that would be nothing new.
Where are you getting your information?
Good, old-fashioned life experience and the internet. I try to use non-Wikipedia sources if possible. (I failed two entries in.)
Why are you doing this?
I sort of have an obsession with firsts. For something that has brought me so much entertainment, comfort, and even discontent, you’d think I’d remember the moment when I moused over an intriguing thumbnail and a few minutes later decided to pledge my heart to a content creator—or at least click the subscribe button. These firsts were lost to the building quagmire that is my adult life. It nags at me. Not as much as, say, the prickling worry that I’ve forgotten to put wet laundry in the dryer, but it still nags at me.
I also have an appreciation for the website The Annotated MST (also erroneously referred to as MST3K Annotated by myself and others), which aims to explain every cultural reference found in every MST3K episode. So here, I try to jog my memory and explain references for other Vinesauce fans. Everyone wins.
No, WHY are you doing this?
Because I get to fill up a few more hours of my life doing something I enjoy until the inevitable comforting embrace of death where nothing can ever hurt me again.
More cheerful answer: I’ve been a fan of Vinny’s videos for years, and the desire to do something other than fanart or a BRB image has been itching at me for a long time. This is my meager contribution to the community.
Do you go to the livestreams?
Not Vinny’s, but I occasionally attend RevScarecrow’s streams. That’s not to say things can’t change. I did start out as a lurker in Rev’s streams, after all.
Would you ever send a game to Vinny?
No. I do have ideas for games I’d like to see him play, but then, who doesn’t?
Aren’t you doing this for attention?
From other Vinesauce fans? Yes! I’d appreciate help in explaining references I don’t understand. Who knows? Maybe our combined efforts will turn this into something beautiful—or at least something with a great personality—for the community.
Can I do my own questening? What about for another streamer or YouTuber?
I don’t own the concept. I haven’t laid claim to Vinny’s content, so I’m not figuratively standing on a pile of Full Sauce videos, brandishing a morning star and ready to brain anyone who attempts to write their insights about them.
In fact, I was inspired by The Annotated MST to research curious bits from my favorite media, and I’m sure there were others doing it before TAM. Anyone can do this kind of thing.
The term “questening” is just a garbled combination of “quest” and “questioning”, but in my mind, it’s come to mean a different form of fan-generated content that requires a unique level of commitment not seen in fanart or fanfic. Seeing other people do similar stuff would make it easier to spot other info nerds in the YouTube/Twitch wild.
Will you do the other Vinesauce streamers?
Not on the scale that I’m doing now. I have a couple of ideas, but you’ll have to wait to see ’em.
You keep missing a lot of what Vinny says in the videos. Like, 90%.
Ohhhh, dear Reader, do you have any idea just how brain-numbingly tedious it would be to list everything he says in every video I’ve singled out? I’d still be doing this project long after the implosion of YouTube and Twitch in the fabled Platform Wars, driven half-mad by my own creation and relying on a pidgin made up of grunts, finger snaps, and quotables to communicate with the rest of humanity—which would have devolved into using only emojis.
To borrow from my inspiration, The Annotated MST, I’m referencing what needs to be explained. That includes songs, games, related videos, memes, internet culture and history, and the like. Otherwise, the pain of creating full transcripts just isn’t worth it.
How will you know you found your first video?
Besides feeling a sense of profound realization? I don’t know. Unadulterated happiness? Melancholy? Fatigue? A craving for Five Guys?
Considering the years I might be spending on this project and how emotional I can get over the oddest things, I’d probably cry. Whether they’re tears of joy and relief (“That’s the video!”) or disappointment and disbelief (“That’s the video?!”) will remain a mystery up until that point.
What if you never find the video?
Oh, it’s crossed my mind several times. I have tread marks all over my grey matter from it. There could be a chance that the fabled video has been lost to a copyright strike, was taken down because of quality issues, or met another type of fate. Maybe my memory is so faulty that I wouldn’t even recognize it. I haven’t ruled out the possibility that this quest may never be satisfactorily completed.
But I can be optimistic. I’m still having fun, stretching my mind muscles, and getting reacquainted with one of my favorite channels on a deeper level. I’ve even met other Vinesauce fans. In that case, maybe the real questening was the friends—wait, no, I’m not gonna finish that stupid-ass sentence…
What would you do if Vinny found out about this project?
Since I’m a recovering freeze/fawn type, I’d probably freeze, and I’d be tempted to fawn. But I’d be happy that he took the time to at least look at it. But if he actually liked the project, I’d be incredibly happy. (And for what it’s worth, I like Grey Leno and believe he’s clever commentary on the mundanity of late night talk shows.)