You Don’t Know! But you can find out…

It seems now days just about everyone has a website. Whether it’s to show off their collection of dog collars or to brag about their ability to balance bowling balls on their heads, they are out there. But where is a website that not only entertains, but shows others how creative a small group of area locals can be?

The answer is simple: “You don’t know!”

You Don’t Know is a website started recently in Midwest City. It showcases the entertaining works of BJ Hartsburg, as well as several of his friends. YDK is a portal to several different types of visual entertainment, including a web movie series (The Life And Deaths Of Cooter Brown), a web comic series (The Adventures of Ak), and a web novel (Legends of Az).

The Life and Deaths of Cooter Brown follows the life of Cooter, an oblivious yet friendly guy. Some how, Cooter has managed to anger the wrong people, and now they are out to get him. But how does all that lead back to the Moonshine Massacre? Watch the series to find out!

The Adventures of Ak follows a very different idea. Ak is a teenaged alien, who recently moved and started attending a new school. Although Ak himself is rather unique (having a bushy tail and all), the reader soon finds out that he is not the only strange one. Add to the mix a girl who looks like a guy, and a guy who’s convinced he has superpowers, and it all totals up to one amusing comic series.

On a more dramatic note, the Legends of Az follows the life of Traz, a young man who somehow managed to accidentally kill his father. Set on the planet of Albatraz, the reader follows Traz through his adventures to learn about himself, those around him, and how his father really died.

As if that wasn’t enough, YDK is full of other ways to kill time and be amused, including Sock Puppet Theater, NAQs (Never Asked Questions), FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), and a very active forum.

Finally, March is the best times to explore YDK. Being the birthday month of the creator, BJ, the website is celebrating the official month of laziness! During March Mildness, the website will be featuring some new additions, including blogs by the people behind YDK and an official March Mildness Contest, while still providing updates to all of the standard content on the site. Because the updates to the standard content will be fewer this month, it is the best time to catch up on all the old installments of LDCB, AoA, and LoA.

So check it out! Be the first of your friends who can say “You don’t know, but I do!”

http://www.youdontknow.net

I’ve decided to declare myself “the hardest working slacker on the internet,” which apart from being contradictory, is probably not true. But it feels true sometimes. And that is, in a nutshell, the reason for Lazy Month. What is Lazy Month, you ask? Lazy Month happens throughout March, and it is the month where I, “The Director” Traz-ak, lie back, turn on the ol’ PS2, and slack off on my sitely duties. Now, there are a few important things that this DOES and DOES NOT mean. And those things are…

1)It does NOT mean that I will not be doing any site work or updates during March. March 1st, for example, will actually have a whopping three updates just on that one day, for the simple job of kicking off Lazy Month with a bit of utter UNlaziness. Furthermore, for the rest of the month, new updates of LDCB, AoA, and LoA will all be cropping up on the site from time to time. What it DOES mean is that those updates aren’t going to be quite as regular as they usually are. I probably won’t put out more than two of my own updates, be them LDCB, AoA, or LoA, in any given week during March. The site may also undergo quite a bit of maintenance during March.

2)It also does NOT mean that there won’t be daily updates. There might be. There might not be. Whether there end up being a more normal amount of entertainment being put up on the site during Lazy Month (in addition to what LDCB, AoA, and LoA updates there will be) is up to you and the actors. What do I mean by this? Well…

  a)First off, some of the actors or regular contributors to various YDK projects are going to put in a little extra work this month to provide additional updates for Lazy Month. This could mean a comic from Cooter Brown, or a podcast from the actress that plays Xlii (you’ll meet that character in LDCB soon…), or a story from Joe Killa. It could mean a wild variety of things. Anything, really. And you’ll just have to check out the site regularly to see what those crazy kids come up with.

But it also means (and this is really what we’re here to talk about)…

  b) The FIRST ANNUAL YDK MARCH MADNESS COMPETITION!!! This competition is very simple. It is open to anyone who would like to participate. And all you have to do is create a comic, story, or video that relates to ydk in some way. Here are a few specifications for acceptable entries…

-For a comic: Comics should be no larger than 1 MB in size and should at max be about the size of a regular 8.5 by 11 in. sheet of paper, but could be as small as a single panel. The artwork does not have to be spectacular to win. You could do stick figures and still get my vote; what I’ll be really looking at is the funny. Make it funny or exciting in some way, and you’ll capture my attention. They can center around ydk characters (from ANY of our entertainment products) or the people behind ydk or even something completely outside ydk so long as it connects back in some way.

-For a story: The story should be no shorter than 500 words, and no longer than 5000. Like the comics, it can center around any ydk characters or involved parties or anything that connects to ydk (even mocks or parodies ydk) in some way.

-For a video: It should be no shorter than 30 seconds, and no longer than 5 minutes. Again, it should relate to ydk in some way or parody ydk, so long as it has some connection.

Each of these things can be your interpretation or parody or relatable subject matter to our products, but they should contain your own artwork, photography, writing, etc. You will not win by simply copying things from the site. It is to be written, drawn, performed, etc. through your eyes, your hand, your ability.

There are two ways you can submit your creations. Either email them to “The Director” at directortraz@yahoo.com, or you can submit them in the forums at http://youdontknow.net/forums. Starting March 1st, a thread will be opened in the forums (in the Forums Exclusives section which can only be viewed by registered members - but don’t worry; registering is quick and easy!), where your work can be submitted. Comics and stories should be sent directly in attached files in email or as attachments to posts on the forums. Videos should be uploaded to a video-sharing site, such as youtube; then the link should be emailed or posted.

All artwork/stories becomes the property of youdontknow.net when submitted. It is ours to do with as we please, and will most likely be posted on the site. Only one entry in each category (comic, video, or story) per entrant will be accepted. This means you can enter up to three times at the most, but one would have to be a comic, one a video, and one a story, if you entered that many times.

You MUST submit your name and email address along with your entry. The email address would be used to notify you in case of winning. It would not be used for any other purpose, nor shared with any third parties.

What will NOT be acceptable is pornographic material of any kind. No bajongos or hoo-hoos please.

The submission period begins March 1st, and ends March 21st. All artwork, stories, or videos that wish to be considered in the contest should be submitted within that timeframe, absolutely NO LATER THAN midnight on March 22nd. Remember: how many days of Lazy Month have new updates on ydk depend on you. It may be fewer, or we could end up flowing over with exciting new material into April! It all depends on your participation. Need a little more incentive? We’ve got some…

 There WILL be rewards. How many kind of depends on the response. If there is little response, then there will be one winner and one runner-up, each receiving prizes (fitting to their position in winning) from the ydk Apple Store. If the response is significant, however, there may be a winner in each category (comics, vidoes, or stories). It all depends on the response. If you do win, you will be notified by email, and you will then have to provide a mailing address in order to receive your prize.

That’s pretty much it. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Or maybe I should just hope someone DOES try to come up with something. March will be much more exciting if you do!

-”The Director” has spoken!