Those are supposed to be muscles...

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1st Ever Paper Fence Contest!! (no prize)

I've decided that I'm done pushing my luck concerning other people's tolerance of infringed copyright laws. Actually, I'm not even sure if it is copyrighted. Nonetheless I have decided to hold the first Paper Fence Contest to decide what my new banner and background will be. You, my loyal followers will be creating these things for me. It could be in the form of a drawing, picture, photoshop, etc. The only requirement is that there be a paper fence of some sort somewhere in it. Other than that, be creative. Once you've done that, post a link to your creation under this post in the comments section. I will choose my favorite two and make one my banner and the other my background. There is no limit to how many you are allowed to make, either. There isn't really a prize except recognition and honor, I guess. The time limit will be 3-5 days. Good luck!

The Lemonade Stand Award

subtitle: When life gives you lemons, make a little lemonade.

I'm really surprised to get two awards in such a short period of time. Thank you SquirrelQueen This is the Lemonade Stand Award, given to bloggers for their good attitudes. The recipients (if they want to) are to give the award to about 10 other bloggers of their choice. Here's mine:

aMusings Blog
BASF
Justsouknow
Alex
Lupe_LU
Sandi K
Lesley
Rebecca
Small Footprints
Lucy

'Grats to everyone. Make sure to pass the drink around.

This post seems a little short, so I think I'll tell a story.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who enjoyed jumping on his trampoline. He would jump on it every day for hours at a time. One day he got up really early so that he could jump on it all day. He started jumping, and eventually his bounces got higher, and higher, and higher, so high that he could see the statue of liberty from his backyard. He lived in California. Soon after that his bounces went out of the planet's atmosphere and he landed on the moon, never to return. He became legend, known as The Man on the Moon. The End. This is not a true story. And I made it up.

Indianna Jones and the Vengeful Aztecs

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My 4-Leaf Clover

You thought it was impossible didn't you? All the naysayers said "Nay!" Well suck it, Naysayers! That's right. I found a four leaf clover. It happened upon me at my doorsteps. I was walking from my car to the house when I just happened to look down. What should be at my feet but a four leaf clover? It was like having an unexpected but pleasantly surprising guest. The kind to whom you would say "Why hello there, four leaf clover. Fancy meeting you here, at my doorstep. Would you care to come in for some tea and scones? I just went to the store and bought some scones. I had some scones yesterday at the govenor's house and they were just delightful. I asked him 'Please gov'na, might I have some more?' and he was all like 'MORE?!' so I just had to go and get some for myself." On an unrelated note, since Spring began I had been searching within the piles of clovers in my yard for a four leaf clover. So here's my prized possession:

Actually, this isn't my four leaf clover. I can't get the camera to work so I just put a random photo I found because I'm just that lazy. My four leaf clover is too old to photograph anyway. In clover years it'd be nearing 70. It was all old and withered and brown. I say "was" because I decided to release it back into the wild. Just now. In the time it took you to read this sentence, I have gone outside and freed my clover. Now it can be back with it's friends and family. I'm a little relieved, honestly. I've been wondering if four leaf clovers actually bring good luck. I know if I was minding my own business and some jerk kidnapped me and locked me in his room, I wouldn't be too keen on wishing him well. Food for thought.

P.S. The world record is an 18 leaf clover, or so I've been told.

Golden Heart Award

This really makes me feel special. Oh so special. I haven't blogged in a while so I'm not exactly sure when this happened, but I have (at some point in time) been awarded this beautifully golden-hearted Golden Heart Award. The aforementioned award was given to me by Vaishu from her blog Sweet Randomness in Life. It's an excellent blog by a clever person that everyone should check out. Now it is my honor to present the Golden Heart Award to five of my favorite blogs. When you get this award, you must place it somewhere on your blog and present it to five other blogs of your chosing:

1. The Road to Here
I know she already has enough awards to fill a bucket, but she deserves them. I enjoy the photography and the insights and advices are very enlightening.

2. T__T *how I cry*
You can tell from the title that this is an amazing blog. I love the stories; although they can be a little long-winded they keep my attention, which is increasingly hard these days.

3. My turn to rant
Ah, the world of dry humor. They say it's the best medicine. Actually I've never heard that, but my point is I like this blog. I'm not one for politics so don't judge me there, but it makes me laugh.

4. aMusings Blog
Teehee, I made a big circle with blog awards. I especially like the name pun. Amusing blog vs. A musing Blog (i left out the s at the end). Is it just me, or have all these been to women so far? Hintedy hint hint.

5. E_M_Y Rants
This is a pretty saucy blog. Don't ask me what that means. But I know it's a compliment. Check out the blog if you want to find out. Nice and crispy.

So there you have it. Thank you Vaishu and congratulations to everyone else. Those were not awarded in any specific order, by the way.

Quidditch for Muggles

This should be interessting to any Harry Potter fans. Remember those intense Quidditch matches that they had? Well apparently some college students decided to bring it to a reality. For those of you who don't know about Quidditch, it's a wizard sport from J.K. Rowling's book series Harry Potter that combines dodgeball, soccer, and flying broomsticks:

Yes, I realize that they're speaking French, but that was the best one I could find. To sum it up, when a team throws the red ball (Quaffle) through a goal post (the hoops on stilts) it's 10 points. Only 4 designated people on each team are allowed to touch it. Three Chasers, who try to score, and a Keeper, who is prety much a goalie. The flying black balls, called Bludgers, go around trying to knock people off their brooms (see 2:19). Two people on each team with sticks (Beaters) knock the bludgers toward people on the other team. Then there's a Seeker on each team who tries to find and catch the Golden Snitch, the flying winged yellow ball. If a Seeker catches the snitch, their team is awarded 150 points and the game ends.

The real-life version is alot less...glamorous?

The rules are pretty much the same, but there are a few modifications: Of course there's no flying. Players must have a broom between their legs at all times on the field. If hit by a bludger, which in this case is just two dodgeballs thrown around, they must drop any balls they are holding and run back to their goal post before they can go back into the action. And instead of a snitch, they have a cross country runner wearing yellow, with a tennis ball in a sock tucked into the back of his/her pants (sort of like flag football). The snitch and the seekers chasing it can run anywhere on campus, as opposed to the other players, who must stay on the field. The seekers are aiming to catch the tennis ball, and if they do their team only gets 50 points, and the game ends.

It looks fun in a stupid sort of way, like playing hide and seek in a gym (I've been known to do that). I would completely do this, especially since my school says it's going to start a league next year. People running around on brooms? Nice.

Don't Ask the Cactus

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