Tonight is going to be quick, short and cheerful!  I’m nearly snoozing now and it isn’t that late yet!  Plus, I’ll need lots of energy for tomorrow!  Why??  It’s the Vancouver 2010 Mascots’ 2nd Birthday Party!!  Find out the details here and more importantly get yourself to the Olympic Superstore tomorrow to join in the festivities!!

Yes! There will be cake!!

*     *     *     *     *

Would you like to be involved in the Paralympic Torch Relay??  Apply here! You must be at least 13 years of age and “Potential torchbearers will be asked to tell their story in 250 characters or less, explaining why they want to be a torchbearer in the 2010 Paralympic Torch Relay. They’ll also be asked to tell how they demonstrate the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality in their lives. What would being a torchbearer mean to you?”  This is so cool!  I love that there are still Torchbearer positions available!  Thanks so much to Sean for mentioning it to me this evening!  I missed the news today and may have missed it completely without the suggestion!

*     *     *     *     *

Another quick reminder to enter my contest to win a Visa Mascot Pin!  It’s really cute!!  All you have to do is get a friend to comment on a post this week with the answer to the following question:

What are the names of the Mascots from the Montreal 1976 and the Calgary 1988 Olympics?

And get your friend to include your name!  Then enter your friend’s name along with the answer ’cause you’re a nice person and think it would be lovely if your friend won a pin too!

This contest closes on the evening of Sunday, November 29th!

This very cute pin could be yours!

*     *      *     *     *

And last… but certainly not least… for those of you that read all the way through my posts….

Yes, I’m stalling a little, it’s ’cause I’m excited!!

My 2010vanfan pins arrived today!!  I need a bit of time to get them ready to give away, but I will be giving them away!  So you’ll need to stay tuned to find out how you may get one (these are really, really limited so there will be contests and trials and tribulations involved )!!

So here is your sneak peek!!

More details to follow soon!  But not until after the Mascots’ Birthday Party as I will be absolutely swamped with that!  Are you excited about this new pin???

]]> http://offthewallvansgirls.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/turkey-day-giveaway-voting/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:59:03 +0000 amandarae http://offthewallvansgirls.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/turkey-day-giveaway-voting/

Thanks to all who participated and submitted something for our little contest, I’ve narrowed it down to my favorite three pieces in no particlar order [and they know how to follow directions! hahah] so I am going to let you guys vote to see who will be the winner. Check out the three finalist below then click the link below to vote for who YOU think should win. Good luck girls!

!!! CLICK HERE TO VOTE >>> who do you think should be the winner? <<< CLICK HERE TO VOTE !!!

You are the winner of my Haute Couture Contest!!! For those of you that aren’t aware, this is the stunning piece Gretchen made!

and this was her inspiration:

Thank you ALL so much for the beautiful entries!! They were all winners in my book!! I will be having another one with a year to complete, stay tuned in the next few days!!

*Just a reminder that this contest was voted online*

I was unable to have an Artist friend commit to judging…

CHARLOTTE NEWBERGER PRIZE FOR POETRY; Dec. 21 deadline; 100 lines max; $150 prize ; no entry fee

Info & entry here:  http://www.lilith.org/writers.htm 

SCRIBOPHILE NANOWRIMO CONTEST; Dec. 7 deadline; prizes are $50 and $25 gift certificates to Amazon; No entry fee

Info & entry HERE:  http://www.scribophile.com/contests/nanowrimo-09/

There are 3 more hours to enter my Black Friday Give Away!!

Yeah, I had posted earlier that I would be participating in the JayIsGames IF contest (over here), but it’s taken all that time for me to come up with a good idea. Yeah, a one-room contest with the theme of escape is not as easy to do as I thought, but I prevailed and will unleash my game! Mhu hah hah! I also came up with some other cool ideas that had a small number of rooms but didn’t really fit the theme, and at least one really cool idea that fit the number of rooms requirement, but wouldn’t hit the T rating. Think lots of blood, not perviness.

And oh, the name of the game? Zegrothenus. Repeat the word slowly over and over, as in sentences like this one: Zegrothenus will totally destroy in ‘10! Zegrothenus owns your free time. Zegrothenus…well, you get the idea.

And why did I decide to enter a contest, given my feelings on contests? Two answers: this contest features real prizes and it’s not held by the insular IF community. The latter makes all the difference in the world and the latter is nice to have.

I am SO in.

Check out some of the winning entries for the Canadian Library Month photo contest!

There was a lot of enthusiasm for this contest, and we thank everyone who entered.

Click here to see some of the winners!

Earlier this week, we launched a WordPress.com Video Contest all about giving thanks. No matter where on Earth you are, we invited you to submit a 30-second video all about the things that bring you joy. And it’s still on!

The new deadline for submissions is midnight Pacific time (UTC-8) on December 4, giving you an extra week to show us your awesome vids.

Remember, the winner of the contest wins a Flip Mino HD video camera, plus a one-year subscription to VideoPress!

To submit your entry, just post your video to your blog with the tag ThanksgivingContest09.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick reminder that we will be gathering at NapAloha in St. Helena, this Sunday, November 29, for our monthly flea fest!  If you’re bringing a new song, please bring enough copies for eveyone.  And don’t forget the pupus! RSVP with Diana: 707-967-9700.

And don’t forget the Big Ukulele Event coming up December 3 hosted by Kala Brand ‘Ukuleles to benefit the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. There will be free ‘ukulele lessons and a concert by the “Ukalaliens.”  Tickets are available online at http://phoenix.inticketing.com/events/59289 or can be purchased in advance at Tall Toad Music in Petaluma. The fun begins at 7:00. I do believe our good friends the Petalukes are also performing.

And this just in:  An ‘ukulele showdown (of sorts) has been scheduled for the weekend of March 19-21 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino in Reno/Sparks when James Hill and Jake Shimubakuro headline twin concerts in the Nugget’s Celebrity Showroom in conjunction with the Tahoe Area Uke Fest. Not sure if the two ‘ukulele superstars will be on stage toether, but at least it’s nice to see James Hill getting the billing he so deserves.  It’s kind of like Bruce Lee meets the Royal Canadian Mounties……

In the meantime, James and his partner Anne Davison just won the “Traditional Abum of the Year” award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for their CD, True Love Don’t Weep.  Here’s what they’re saying about it: 

For starters, True Love Don’t Weep, his first full-length collaboration with cellist Anne Davison, abandons the “bet-you-didn’t-think-I-could-do-that” subtext of his earlier work to follow a muse that seems unfettered by supply and demand and uninterested in ukulele evangelicalism. Cello, banjo, bouzouki, fiddle, voices, winds, brass, bells and music boxes entwine with ukuleles of all shapes and sizes through twelve tracks that resonate with folk, old-time, gospel and blues influences. True Love Don’t Weep isn’t a campaign for the ukulele, just an offering of beautiful, sweetly sorrowful music. From the heart-rending Ev’ry Night to the cathartic Obedience Blues to the slightly demented Duke’s Alley Rag, the duo – assisted by a handful of talented friends – weaves a broad tapestry of vivid colour and emotion. Fret-burning, uptempo cuts like Ode to a Frozen Boot, Richard’s Reel, and One More Lie to Love show why Canadian Folk Music calls James “truly amazing… a serious virtuoso upon the instrument.” But it’s the meditative introduction to Sakura, Sakura, the sweet vocal harmonies of Because, and the haunting chorus of Oh! Susanna that explain the three-year gap between True Love Don’t Weep and James’ “tour de force” third album A Flying Leap. After all, it takes time to dig deeper and True Love Don’t Weep certainly comes from a deeper – often darker – place.

I can still hear that very haunting rendition of “Oh! Susanna” that James played at the first Wine Country ‘Ukulele Festival.  To hear some of the songs and order the CD directly from James you can visit his website: James Hill: Ukulele…Seriously.  Otherwise you can download the entire CD (highy recommended) or just individual songs on iTunes to the right.

And now for something entirely different, I’ve posted a new copy of “On a Coconut Island” under the Song Files.  It’s the Louis Armstrong version (you can also download it from iTunes on the right) …wonderful.

And, finally, since it is Black Friday, don’t forget to do your ‘ukulele holiday shopping soon: www.kani-ka-pila.com. Send me an email if you’d like me to bring anything to Flea Jumpers on Sunday.  I can keep it a secret if you want…..

Hello Penguins! There is a new Snow and Sports Catalog! Check it out! Here are all the cheats!

Click the Green Penguin, to get the Green Hockey Jersey!

Click the Light Green Penguin to get the Green Hockey Goalie Equipment!

Click ICE to get the White Pompoms!

There are also some cool Backgrounds and a new job!

Enjoy!

Buy this today. Great to listen to in the car and share with writer friends.

This is excerpted from my CD, The Writer’s Cave, Why Writers Write What They Do. It is available from amazon for $10. To order click here: http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Cave-CD-John-Lehman/dp/0974172847/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259259763&sr=8-7 and the correct page will automatically come up. 

The Writer’s Cave, True Stories of Why We Write What We Do, written and presented  by John Lehman

Music

BOB: Part One, THE WRITER AS VAMPIRE

Music

JOHN:  Question: Do writers sleep in coffins?

     In the old days, victims of writers, e.g. readers, were occasionally interred while still in an author-induced deep sleep.  This may have given rise to the myth from gravediggers and others who observed them emerging from coffins and crypts that literary people do sleep in coffins. So the answer is “no,” though a writer may choose to sleep in a coffin for other reasons. I understand coffins are quite dark and very quiet.

 John, excitedly.

     I get this idea for a one-person presentation. A DVD commentary on an Ingmar Bergman film, Persona, suggests that a director/writer is like a vampire. Wow, I think, the writer as vampire.  So I write something up. It begins this way:

     It’s 35 years ago in one of the Slavic countries that gave rise to the legend of vampires in the 11^th century. My first wife and I are wandering the streets of Split, Yugoslavia—an ancient Venetian city on the blue Mediterranean with white buildings stacked up its hills.

He turns to the audience.

     Come along with me.

John continues conversationally.

     I’d just left the Army and we are on the first leg of a year’s journey that will take us to Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal and back to Germany.

          Anyway, it’s a warm early fall afternoon and a crowd is gathering several blocks away. With our one-year-old in a carrier on my back, we hurry down the seaside street to see what possibly could be going on.

      There’s the snapshot in my memory that remains. A movie is being shot in front of an old hotel. This is intriguing in itself. But then we look past the actors and cameras and see that the man directing it is none other than…the legendary…

…Orson Welles.

John looks off to their left. His initial enthusiasm is replaced by disillusionment.

     He looks terrible. As wide as he is tall, he’s dressed in a black shirt, black trousers, and a black suit coat that he must have slept in. His hair is greasy and hanging straight over his forehead and his corpulent face is a sweaty, beet red. He seems to be tilting slightly backwards to balance his colossal weight.

     But it is the Orson Welles. Orson Welles directing!

John looks back as if they are seeing the action of the movie shoot.

     A taxi pulls in front of the hotel entrance and as the woman gets out the camera on the other side zooms in, shooting into the interior of the automobile she’s leaving.

       All this is done without any verbal direction. In fact this seems to be more a rehearsal for a scene that will be shot.

       Orson Welles is turning to the cameraman.

       My God, I am going to hear the greatest cinematic genius of all time actually tell his cameraman what to do.

     He says, with that still-sonorous Orson Welles voice coming from deep in his diaphragm as if from the bottom of a huge, empty barrel,

     “Mario, keep your eyes on the camera, these people will steal anything.” 

     That’s it?

     That’s it. Probably no one in the crowd but Pat and I understand English, but we laugh all afternoon repeating the words:

     “Mario, keep your eyes on the camera.”

     And the baby laughs too…so hard and so beautifully…

     … that during the whole rest of the trip if we want him to roll with laughter, we say…

“Mario, keep your eyes on the camera!”

Laughing.

John  returns to his own thoughts. The joy starts to dissolve.

     What an anticlimax, but looking back what could he have said that would be more memorable? For Orson Welles—known as the boy genius because of his early masterpiece, Citizen Kane—making movies for TV in Yugoslavia was probably the low point of his career.  And here was my son beginning his life…with wonderful giggles. My little boy’s laughter was his masterpiece. To his parents, he was “our baby genius.”

 When John begins again his voice is weary, more confessional.

He sighs.

     A nice story, but now, almost 35 years later, here’s why I think it fits the topic, “The Writer as Vampire.”

      As writers, we’re consumed with finding significant “meaning.” We are elated when we think we have that. But then times change. Life moves on. And what is significant changes for us.

     When I sit down to write a poem about the Orson Welles encounter 20 years later, my son is a teenager in the Air Force—neither a “teenage genius” nor an “Air Force genius,” and my wife has left me. So the cheery ending of the little memory doesn’t seem quite appropriate anymore.

      Here are the last two stanzas I come up with:

U

His shot seemed a curious choice.

When the woman stepped out from

the cab a camera entered through

a door that opened on the other

side. Did it make sense, to film

the empty  space  where  once she

had  been, leaving us to watch her

parting shape from the dark inside?

In twenty years, my wife, herself,

would go, never once looking back

on unedited footage decomposing

in the can.

U

His face was crimson with broken

veins and greased with sweat; his

voice—that voice—no longer Harry

Lime’s, but the mumbled growl of

Hank Quinlan toward his seedy end. 

What I wanted most that day, was

a shimmering globe to hold forever

dear, instead, in his voice I heard

only shards of broken glass. “Mario,”

he said, “you keep your eyes on the

people or they will steal everything.” 

And she did.

U

     I like the Citizen Kane snow-scene-in-a-glass-globe allusion, but now, my emphasis switches from watching the camera to “keep your eyes on the people.” Now I had “truth” that fit my current situation.

Tell me about your craziest, zaniest, or absolutely worst busy retail shopping experince!!

You may enter by posting your comment below.

Please enter (comment) only once, a winner will be drawn randomly at 8pm Pacific time tonight.

The winner will receive a Balm or Stain and any single Eye Shadow in stock from Sobe Botanicals!!  You can read my review of her lip products here.

To kick things off I’ll tell you my zaniest retail experince…

Years ago I worked at Target, paying my way through school.  Needless to say, carrying a full load at college and working almost forty hours a week,  I was usually really tired.  Normally, being in Personnel, I didn’t work on the floor.

One day, just a week or so before Christmas I was working in Electronic and some crazy customer spotted a TV they HAD TO HAVE on of the top shelves.  She wanted THAT ONE, not the ones on the end caps (they were on sale for a really good price) and she wanted one that ‘hadn’t been out’.  Before I could react she’d managed to pull the thing down just enough that it was teetering there.  She quickly moved out of the way, but it fell right on my head.

Fast forward to me at the emergency room with a concussion.  One of the other Team Leads was with me in the hospital and OUR boss was going to drive my car home for me, because I wasn’t able to, and the someone would take him back to the store from there.  So as I’m sitting there waiting for my MRI or whatever to get read my co-worker tells me the plan and ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT it what I left on the radio in my car.  I had this song BLARING on the way to work.  I KNEW that when he got in the car it would still be on.

I heard about it for about a year after that.  It did NOT fit the image of me my boss had, he was SO shocked that the normally poised and demure me would even know that song existed.

Now it’s your turn.

UPDATE :

True Random Number Generator Result: 13
The winner is Sarah!!

I’ll be contacting you tomorrow with more info!!
Congrats and thanks to everyone for the amazing stories!!

Hello Penguins!

There is some great news today!

The Ice Rink has came back! My favorite place!

Look at those sweet decorations!

I hope you guys like it!

Hello Penguins!

The Great Snow Maze has arrived today and I am here giving you all the info!

1. First enter the Ski Mountain

2. Receive yout Blue Toque!

3. Pick up the Map if you would like:

Enter the Maze and begin!

I know a lot of penguins…

Here is a video showing how to solve the maze! Thanks Blackear5k for helping me out! You are a true friend. Black, you can embed this video on your site too if you would like.

done

You can get a Yeti Costume!

Woot! I hope you guys like the Maze!

I got to go to my Venue Training today for Vancouver 2010!!  I have been assigned to the Vancouver Athlete’s Village so training was in the Village tonight!  And I’m so pleased that I got to go!  I’ve been watching the Village be built for several years now and I have to say it’s pretty amazing to get to be inside the community centre and to walk down the streets of the Village at night!

Downtown Vancouver from the Athlete's Village (I think I may need a better camera ).

The Athlete’s Village is in such a beautiful location!  You can see the city, the mountains, the ocean!  It truly is an urban oasis!

The training tonight included information on the vision and goals that we as a team hope to accomplish for the Athlete’s Village.  Our number one task?  To make all of our visitors feel at home!  And I have to say, with such beautiful homes as they will be staying in then those of us working there only need to add some personality to really make it more than just a memorable experience!  We also talked about the organization of the Village, and the layout, as well as a tiny bit about the various jobs that the Vancouver 2010 Workforce volunteers will be doing.

I have been assigned to Plaza and Events and this sounds like it will be right up my alley!!  This is the main area where invited guests to the Village will be able to interact with the Village residents.  So this will include media, sponsors, dignitaries and the like, as well as friends and families of the athletes.  All parts of the Village will only be accessible by accredited people.  The Plaza will feature retail space, as well as the Welcoming Ceremony Venue, where each Nation will come to have their flag raised as part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games!

A lot of my training will come later when I do my job specific course, but that’s okay, I got a wonderful chance to be one of the first of the ‘general public’ to walk along the streets of the Village and that was so very special to me!  It was also wonderful to hear from the people who have been involved in planning the Village for the last several years and to hear their passion and excitement!  This is a very powerful thing we’re all involved in and the anticipation grows every day!

Alright, I’m going to add a few more photos from our tour through the Athlete’s Village and then head to sleep!  Way too late again tonight! (PS – It was so late that when my computer decided it was going to stop working I didn’t want to fix it then, so morning time it is!).

The newly restored Salt building is beautiful! The walkway leading to it from False Creek represents water as this building was once on the waterfront of False Creek!

I'm not sure why the lights weren't on at Science World tonight, but it looked neat!

*     *     *     *     *

Don’t forget, the Mascot’s Birthday party is this Saturday at the Olympic Superstore in Vancouver with festivities starting at 2pm, including cake, kid’s goody bags (we should have enough to last a while… hopefully until at least 3pm), face-painting, a dj, Kurt Browning and Gaétan Boucher and of course the Mascots! Look for more details here!

*     *     *     *     *

And one last reminder… don’t forget to enter to win a Visa Mascot pin.  Find out how here!  Contest ends on the evening of Sunday, November 29th!

Thanks for reading!

{UPDATES COMING IN TWO SECONDS}

Karen’s* pet, Tara*!

Although there weren’t many votes, Tara still won by a landslide. Congratulations, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Don’t let Black Friday shopping distract you too much – the deadline for entries in our Winter/Spring Cover Picture contest is coming up fast! Send us two of your favorite vertical shots from your wedding by next Wednesday, Dec. 2. Find all the details here. As always, we’ll put our favorites up for vote, and the winners will grace the cover of our next digital magazine – and win fun prizes! You’re eligible if you were married in Southern Maryland by Dec. 2. Enter today!

Hello Penguins! It’s been a lot of spicy days for me lately, so I spent a long time making this guide for you.

First off, head to the Volcano.

Talk to Sensei

He will speak and talk about important things and give you cards. Follow this video:

Let’s start with the basics.

You can play up to four players!

Example with three:

You will get more experience points if you play the game when you talk to Sensei.

The offline Card-Jitsu deck cards can help you!

Pick  any stone from the middle, two element options will come up, choose one of them and hope to win the Card Jitsu battle ahead.

If you have these platforms as your choice choose a card.

In the battle, the highest number wins.

If you have this battle card, pick any player to verse with a card jitsu battle. Fire beats snow. Water beats fire and snow beats water. This can also occur if you land on the same platform as someone else.

If your playing on this platform, you can choose any element you will like. Highest number wins.

You can get first, second, third, or last place.

Try getting first and second that will help you get a lot of experience points.

The more rounds you win, the higher your points go up.

You can tell by viewing your cards.

Click here and you will see this. You will have to win many games to see how well you are doing at getting the next outfit item.

There are many secrets hidden within the game. Here’s a video showing these secrets:

Once you know these things, you will start to play the game. Follow this video, but look towards these steps.

1. Try to be unpredictable, so players will not be able to guess your moves.

2. Use high number cards.

3. Have common sense.

4. If you are in battle mode, people like to choose fire, so use water a lot.

5. If a player stumbles on two platforms of snow and battle, and they choose battle, that means they didn’t want to chose snow because it is an element which they have that isn’t a high number. When you battle that person, you will know they wont use snow, so you have an advantage.

6. Try thinking at what other players strategies are.

As you win games, you will receive items, here is a video of me receiving items!

Once you have all these things, you will have to fight Sensei! Here is how:

1. Pick a stone that you can trust

2. Use the same stone for half the game and then switch to another stone, TRUST ME IT WORKS

3. Sensei will catch on and try to guess what you are doing, BUT you will be winning by a lot of numbers

4. Switch to a different stone (or try to be unpredictable)

5. Don’t be afraid to pick a platform that Sensei is standing on, you can battle him and you can have a good chance of winning.

6. Think ahead

You will see that I do all these things and beat Sensei on my first time! Notice that I used the left stone for a long time.

Watch this video.

You will become a fire ninja and a red gem will be placed on your amulet! Awesome!

Here is how a fire ninja looks like:

Pretty soon all fire ninjas will be able to unlock new places… but not yet. We have to wait until Card Jitsu Water or Snow comes out!

Notice the Secret Ninja Hideout! The Fire element is glowing! Once you beat Card Jitsu Water and Snow the other two elements will glow and we will soon unlock new places!

See this post for giveaway details.

This is a sticky post that will remain until Wed., Dec. 2. New posts are below.