PUBLIC MARKS from wiredsetman

Editor's Note: The Queen Mary 2 slipped under the Verrazano bridge at five a.m. this morning depositing Mark in the same location from which he departed 80 days ago. Awaiting him were his wife, Laura, and daughter, Greta, and a couple staffers from Conde Nast Traveler who came under the false impression that doing so would excuse them from going to the office. For a man who has spent 80 days on the road writing blog posts, foraging for food, and pestering people with questions, he looked remarkably fresh. We credit the algae wrap (and the handsome budget). Initially Mark promised to send a post today highlighting his last night on the QM2, but we insisted that he reserve his writing for tomorrow. An unlikely request, but we've been as blown away by the blog as anyone. After time with the family and some shut-eye, Mark will be back online tomorrow (no doubt trying to find out if he can resurrect the budget for a visit to Peter Luger Steakhouse).

On March 5th, my budget was a strong, vigorous and ready to tackle the world. It had known only good times in its short life, (see here, here, and here; ed.) and in those sweet, carefree days my budget's might was exceeded only by its innocence. Seventy-eight days later, my budget was drawn and gaunt, emaciated, starving, dehydrated and on the verge of expiration. It hadn't had sustenance since Mongolia, when my hotel reimbursed me $10 for an inadvertent overcharge. Since then, nothing. Three days ago, its teeth started falling out. My budget had come down with scurvy.

Day 78: A shout out to my man Francis, that rare breed of waiter who knows how to call a spade a spade. Francis demonstrated this exceptional ability last night at dinner. I was flummoxed, unable to decide what to choose as an appetizer, and so I put the following question to Francis: "How about the Atlantic seafood tian? Is it any good?" His answer: "Not really." Boom. An honest answer from an honest man.

Day 77: Over the course of the past 75 days, I have slept on a communal bed in rural China, witnessed the slaughter and butchering of a sheep in Mongolia--a sheep whose liver, kidney, stomach and lungs I helped eat one hour later--and danced with a 76-year-old grandmother in the hills of Cilento, Italy, while her husband serenaded us with bawdy songs on his accordion. These are events we would consider far from the mainstream, and yet, at the time, they didn't feel strange or out of the ordinary. In each case, I was struck by the fact that I had never done any of these things before.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, Jay-Z offers free breast exams and raps thru a patient’s surgery. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 1030pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, rappers DMX, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy join forces with music mogul Russell Simmons to denounce child support. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 10pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, rappers DMX, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy join forces with music mogul Russell Simmons to denounce child support. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 10pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, rappers DMX, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy join forces with music mogul Russell Simmons to denounce child support. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 10pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency. mtv, nick, cannon, short, circuitz, circuits, puff, diddy, dmx, jay-z, jayz, russell, simmons, skit, comedy, humor, short, user, trailer, cool, rap

MTV Short Circuitz asset, video. Nick Cannon presents Short Circuitz Season 2, a sketch comedy show where viewer’s can submit their own shorts and the top three will make it to air and earn them $1,000. Here, rappers DMX, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy join forces with music mogul Russell Simmons to denounce child support. Short Circuitz Season 2 premieres Thursday, June 7th at 10pm ET/PT, and airs every Thursday after. http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com/ From Wiredset Digital Agency.