Halo Scores, Prison Ramen

December 5, 2023 Lehan Edirisinghe

Halo music essays and film-editing talk fed a marketing-and-identity riff. Later, prison ramen economics sparked government fantasies and a “strong personality” note

Story

Claiming to Know How to Topple Countries

6:00 a.m.

I know how to topple countries properly

The image is a screenshot from a YouTube video titled "Halo's Music And Why We Love It | Video Essay," created by the channel Laper Larden, which has 14.6K subscribers. The video appears to be a detailed exploration of the music in the Halo video game series. The screenshot captures an intense gameplay moment featuring a Warthog vehicle from Halo, amid a fiery explosion on a futuristic, geometric platform. The scene is set against a dramatic red sky with rocky terrain visible, creating a sci-fi atmosphere. The explosion is vibrant, adding dynamic energy to the frame. The player interface shows typical gaming elements such as a health or shield bar and targeting reticle. The video timeline indicates it is 16 minutes and 2 seconds into the 22 minute and 48 second essay, specifically during "The Warthog Run" segment. The YouTube interface is visible, with options for liking, sharing, and saving the video. The screenshot also shows the browser's tabs and address bar, indicating it is viewed on Google Chrome with other tabs open for Facebook.

Saying “I Like This”

5:30 p.m. (c)

I like this

The image is a screenshot from a YouTube video titled "Halo's Music And Why We Love It | Video Essay," featured on the channel Laper Larden. The scene takes place indoors, possibly during a meeting or discussion. The central figure, referred to in the hint as Lucas, is wearing a blue plaid shirt and appears to be speaking or listening intently. Several people are gathered around, with one person in a blue shirt and glasses touching their face thoughtfully. Another individual, wearing a green sweater, stands with arms crossed, showing interest in the conversation. The setting suggests a professional or collaborative environment, as indicated by the serious expressions and attentive postures of the attendees. The room is warmly lit, with bookshelves and a whiteboard visible in the background. The video discusses the music of the "Halo" series, focusing on its emotional impact, as reflected in the subtitle "Emotional Equity" visible on screen.

Tourism Marketing, Film Directors and a Big Budget

5:30 p.m. (d)

My tourism department first minister Chandran has met all those major American film directors.

I generally learn art by feel. I watch a lot, and then I kind of get how they do this, and then it just feels right or it doesn't. It's a lot of editing. That's why the guy's got big eye glasses or something.

We have plans for promoting SL properly, with a massive tourism department budget. Actually tourist department. I don't know really. You don't need to know these people, if you know their work, you can learn, as that's what matters.

It's very difficult to copy me, however, as I'm a one of a kind.

No it is tourism department. We have set aside like 3%.

As it's where we do marketing for our country's many offerings. When you spend on marketing, you often get a good return. I would say for like $10 bucks on marketing, you get $50 to $100. As people need to hear about your products or services.

We're putting in like 3% x $16 billion = $480m per year on tourism

Story

Getting One Correct

6:00 p.m.

I got 1!

Story

Getting a Second One and Feeling Starving

6:00 p.m. (b)

Got 2nd one.

I'm getting my lunch or something

Starving

I █████████████████████ out of Sri Lanka

Story

Saying Some of Them Were Right

6:15 p.m.

Some of em were right

Story

A Deliberately Bad Joke About the Magazine Mansion

6:15 p.m. (b)

This is stupid

I think if it was names on crossword

I'd get them right

The screenshot depicts a Facebook page for A&W Restaurants. The interface shows the classic Facebook layout with a dark theme, including navigation and tabs at the top. On the left, there's a brief introduction to A&W Restaurants, mentioning "Good Food & Good Times Since 1919." Below this, the contact email and website are listed, along with a price range symbolized by a pound sign.
On the right side, a post by A&W Restaurants is highlighted, featuring a playful "A&W Unwrapped" graphic mimicking the style of Spotify Wrapped. It humorously lists fictional top artists and songs related to the brand, such as "TAYLOR SWIRL" and "BURGER BUNNY," along with songs like "CURD SUMMER" and "FRIES CAR." The post playfully claims they're in the top 0.1% of root beer drinkers, using the hashtag #SpotifyWrapped. The orange and yellow color scheme adds a vibrant contrast, drawing attention to the post. An illustrated bear character, associated with A&W branding, is depicted on the graphic, adding to the lighthearted theme.

Unable to Stop Listening to “A&W”

8:00 p.m. (c)

I can't stop listening to A&W

The image is a colorful, vintage-style illustration featuring a promotional theme from A&W Restaurants, Inc. Dominating the top left corner, the text lists "Top Artists" with playful food-themed names like Taylor Swirl, Burger Bunny, Doja Cone, Bruno Mugs, and Dua Lettuce. Below, "Top Songs" are creatively titled Curd Summer, Fries Car, Paint the Town Orange, I Root Beer Everything, and First Person Sundae, reflecting a fun twist on popular culture.
Centered within the illustration is a cartoon character—a smiling bear—suggestive of a classic A&W mascot, adding a nostalgic feel. To the right, a section mimics an album cover with the title "Did You Know That There's a Root Beer at the A&W Restaurant" and a list of food items like Root Beer Float and Cheese Curds.
The background is a vibrant mix of orange and yellow hues with musical notes, stars, and the A&W logo, emphasizing the brand's connection to music and food. The image celebrates a thematic blend of entertainment and dining, showcased under the title "A&W Unwrapped."

Already Losing My Mind

8:00 p.m. (d)

But I don't care baby

I already lost my mind

1) Rich description (8–12 sentences): The image is a screenshot from a YouTube video titled "Why ramen is so valuable in prison," published by Vox. The scene is from the television show "Orange is the New Black" (2015), and it features a female character in a beige prison uniform crouching in front of a metal cabinet filled with packets of instant ramen noodles. The character is reaching for a packet, highlighting the importance of ramen as a commodity in the prison setting. The lighting is bright, typical of institutional indoor environments, and the metal shelves are stacked neatly with colorful ramen packages, predominantly in red tones. On top of the cabinet, there are a pair of eyeglasses and some papers, adding to the realism of the setting. The composition focuses on the open cabinet and the character's action, emphasizing the theme of resourcefulness and scarcity. The logo and branding for Vox is visible in the top right corner, and the video is part of a playlist as indicated by the interface details at the top of the screen.
2) On-screen text block:
- Title: "Why ramen is so valuable in prison"
- Channel / profile: "Vox"
- Site / app: "YouTube"
- Key OCR lines: "Orange is the New Black (2015)"

Liking an Unusual Business Model

9:00 p.m.

Hehehe

I liked the "███████████████" business model

The image is a video frame from a YouTube video titled "Why ramen is so valuable in prison" by Vox. It shows a document with a table titled "Table 2 Prices in the SSP prison ramen black market." The table lists various goods that can be traded, their prison commissary store cost, black market cost in packs of ramen, and in dollars. The items include ramen instant noodle pack, fresh fruit or vegetable, envelope, sweatshirt, thermals, pouch of coffee, denture adhesive, loose tobacco, and cigarettes. A highlight is visible on the line for "Sweatshirt," indicating emphasis or relevance. The video frame also features standard YouTube interface elements, including a progress bar and video controls. The lighting is clear, focusing on the document text. The frame suggests a focus on economic exchanges within prison systems, particularly the value of ramen.

Saying the Prison System Sucks

9:00 p.m. (b)

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███████████████████████████████████████████████

█████████ prison system sucks

████████████████████████████████████

███████████████████████

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1) Rich description (8–12 sentences):
The image is a screenshot from a YouTube video by Vox titled "Why ramen is so valuable in prison." The video is paused at the 2:28 mark, as indicated by the red progress bar below the screen. The visual features a black background with a chart showing information about annual commissary sales per person, drawn from a 2016 report by the Prison Policy Initiative and the Department of Corrections. The chart highlights that a significant 75% of sales consist of "Food and beverage." This data is visually represented by a large yellow block occupying most of the chart, with several smaller colored blocks to the right, suggesting other categories.
The YouTube interface is visible, with typical controls such as the play button, volume control, and settings icon displayed. The video title and channel name, "Vox," are prominently shown. The channel has 11.7 million subscribers. The browser tabs at the top show the user is also on Facebook and has various other tabs open, indicating multitasking. The bright blue of the tab bar contrasts with the darker video content, drawing attention to the user's environment outside the video. The presentation style is clean and informative, consistent with Vox's visual approach to disseminating information.
2) On-screen text block:
- Title: "Why ramen is so valuable in prison"
- Channel / profile: "Vox"
- Site / app: "YouTube"
- Captions / subtitles: "..."

Zuck, Sandberg, POTUS and a Food Department

9:00 p.m. (c)

I think Zuck or Sandberg could do a better job running the US

Or I could as POTUS

I'm actually a pretty good POTUS candidate

They're sad I'm not an American

Lee Kuan Yew coulda been a good first Chinese POTUS

Or Lee Hsien Loong

As they're good managers

It's not a total disaster

It's far better than this hellpit

Or even Singapore

But America could be so much more

They aren't solving massive problems they have

And

I'm creating a food department of my fantasy gov't

So we will run a food service

To ensure everyone's getting 2,000 calories minimum

And bring it up to 2,500

Story

Using Singapore Airlines Catering Menus for School Food

9:30 p.m.

We have used the Singapore International Airlines catering menus for our Sri Lanka Schools food menu options

Replete with special and religious dietary options

The image captures a formal meeting setting featuring two individuals seated at a long table, engaged in a discussion. On the right is "The President," who is speaking and gesturing with his right hand. He is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a red and white striped tie, complemented by a small American flag pin on his lapel. His expression appears focused and conversational.
To his left is Randall Stephenson, identified by the nameplate in front of him, along with his affiliation with AT&T. He is wearing a dark suit, a light blue shirt, and a green tie, appearing to be listening intently. Both individuals are seated in front of a gold-colored curtain, with part of an American flag visible in the background. There are microphones and glasses of water on the table, indicating a formal discussion or conference setting. The lighting is bright, highlighting the serious and professional atmosphere of the scene.
- Title: "..."
- Channel / profile: "..."
- Site / app: "..."

Strength of Personality and What People Believe

1:30 a.m. (d)

You know

Some people say

That some leaders

They have this thing called

Strength of personality

Oh what a strong personality

And I don't believe that

But people believe that about me