The other day I had to contact the good folks at X-Box Live to resolve an account issue, and when I gave my login name (GotMedieval, for the record), the account representative on the other end laughed and asked tentatively, “You’re not the dude from the blog, are you?”
That’s right, I’m that famous. I’m “customer service slaves in call centers recognize me by Gamertag”-famous. And such fame comes with rich rewards, too, apparently. Check out the new duds my X-Box Live Avatar is sporting:
Thanks to my recurring awesomeness, my avatar’s now adorned with the period authentic costume worn by Dante on the cover of the recent scholarly edition of Dante’s Inferno™. So my master plan seems to be coming together at last. Run a niche academic comedy blog for several years, build a following, then once the swag is trickling in, update only sporadically.
There is one fly in the ointment, however. Flush with excitement over my new virtual duds, I booted up my copy of Lips Party Classics* yesterday, signed in, and prepared to belt out a few verses of “The Gambler” while wearing my Dante duds. But much to my surprise (and disappointment!), my cool new threads were too cool for some censor at Lips HQ. Witness the bowdlerizing of Dante’s signature look:
Apparently, red fabric crosses stitched directly to your flesh are not family appropriate. Who knew?
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*Mock me not, hardcore gamers. Sometimes, a man’s gotta sing. And it’s not like I play American Idol Encore 2 or anything.