ClassClown Pictures is making a movie - GIVEAWAY!

Whoa, have I got a giveaway for you, dear readers! How often do you get the chance to win free swag AND get producer credits in a feature film?

The Company
Class Clown Pictures is an Austin-local, independent production company that wants to make funny movies for everyone to enjoy:

Our projects are written to engage the audience with intelligent, entertaining stories that do not rely on the usual short-cuts of extreme or gratuitous violence, sex or toilet humor. We will not substitute quality with “shock value” or “cheap thrills...” though we do appreciate the poetry of a well-timed belch.

Class Clown Pictures is drawing on a great pool of talent, and they have a fantastic array of movies lined up that they want to create. I've been privileged to help edit most of these scripts, and I can attest to the fact that they're funny and family-friendly without relying on gross-out humor.

The Movie
The film that Class Clown Pictures is currently working to fund is Code Enforcers, a comedy about the "joys" of housing authorities and the people who enforce their rules. If you've ever had to deal with an HOA I think you'll relate, but if you haven't Class Clown has plenty of links for you to . . . enjoy. For example: 10 Things a Homeowner's Association Won't Tell You. How can you possibly turn the ruthless rule of an HOA into a comedy? Well:

Dave Petty was never able to make it as a super cop like his forefathers, instead he spends his days - with his conspiracy-theory-loving partner Sue - enforcing the codes in Lakefield Hills, a snooty gated community in the Texas Hill Country. They make sure that trash receptacles are brought in from the curb on time, and grass does not grow past three and one quarter inches in height.  

Dave's only hope: every year the Governor holds a competition, with the best-of-the-best Texas law enforcement officers being hand-picked to enroll at the legendary Texas Rangers Academy... (read more)

The Giveaway 
Because Class Clown is funding this movie through the help of (future) viewers like you, this giveaway is focused strongly on helping them raise money and awareness. Which leads us to...

The Prizes!
This giveaway gives you so many chances to win something neat!

1. If you just want to help raise awareness, you can friend Class Clown Pictures, Like the Code Enforcer Facebook page, and tweet about the giveaway to be entered to win one of two Class Clown mugs. 
   
2. If you contribute any amount to Code Enforcer, you get extra entries!
3. If you contribute $40 or more, you get extra entries AND one of the bonuses from the Class Clown donations page! ($40: Class Clown Bumper sticker; $45-100: Class Clown T-Shirt; everyone who donates over $50 gets a free copy of the DVD) 
   
4. If you interact with Code Enforcer on Facebook by sharing your homeowner or HOA horror stories, you can get a ton of extra entries AND two contributors will be chosen by Class Clown to each win a mug!
5. If you get a team together to contribute $101 or more, you get producer credits in the movie AND you are eligible to win one of the two mugs AND the team that raises the highest amount gets free t-shirts for everyone in their team! And this doesn't have to be a whole lot: if you're a team of five and you each contribute just over $20, you're in the running for these prizes.

I am personally going to contribute a box of my favorite tea to anyone who wins a mug, as a nifty little bonus :D

I know you're all very excited, so I will cut to the chase and let you loose on the Rafflecopter form:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One Week Left to Enter!

Remember, there's just one week left to enter my Where Monsters Go When You Grow Up giveaway:

The Giveaway
Greg is giving away two autographed copies of Where Monsters Go When You Grow Up to one of my readers! I just know you're going to love it, so I've included lots of options for you to earn entries! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below, and remember that you can tweet twice per day (there are two different sets of text) for bonus entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aw, my vacation is over

But I did get introduced to some interesting, small-town architecture. Had you ever seen a Jesus in cowboy boots before?

I need a vacation from my SXSW vacation

Hours and hours of helping people promote themselves at SXSW later, I am so ready for a looong weekend.

Happy International Women's Day!

It's that time of year again!

Wait, what's that?

You hadn't heard that International Women's Day is coming up?

If you had, count yourself lucky - I just heard about it a few weeks ago. Which is sort of sad, considering how long the holiday has been around:

What a great idea, though - a day to celebrate the gains women have made, while recognizing that we still have a ways to go. There are some wonderful resources on the International Women's Day website: conversation-starter videos, a list of celebrations by country, and ways to join in through social media.

In high school, I remember once hearing a male classmate ask a friend "what did women ever invent...other than tampons? (hurr hurrr)." How nice it would have been to, instead of fuming silently, be able to direct him to a video like this:

 

Are you participating in some way for International Women's Day?

Awesome Things: #2 (Gelatin Flowers)

I was both honored and humbled to be able to attend one of the Las Comadres comadrazos this past weekend. These Las Comadres events bring professional Latina women from all over the country to meet, make connections, and bond.

One of my favorite parts (other than the panels) is the exhibitor tables that are set up all around the main conference floor room. There were so many hispanic- and woman- run businesses to see, and most of them were completely new to me.

I was completely surprised by the table for Gelatin Flowers. Gelatin Flowers is, well, exactly what it sounds like: This company makes adorable, edible flowers in convenient little containers. I never thought I'd use the words "delicate" and "gelatin" in the same sentence, but just look at what they can create with what is essentially jello:

Beautiful. I graduate with my Master's this May, and I've been trying to think of something cute and summery to give as a parting gift for my guests. These gelatin flowers seem kind of perfect for the occasion:

*Sigh* Okay, enough time staring at tasty treats - I have classwork to complete if I'm actually going to make it out of school!

Creepy Photography #1

I know I'm not the only one who's noticed that most fashion/advertising photography involving women tends to look like it was done by a latent serial killer. Heck, Ms. Magazine's No Comment section has been posting examples for years.

Lately, though, it seems like every time I open a magazine there's at least one gratuitous example of an ad that is either over-sexed, murder-y, or both. I've decided to start keeping track of them for my sanity's sake, because I've had people look at me like I'm delusional when I point it out.

Today's photo is from Lucky Magazine. Maybe I've been watching a little too much Criminal Intent, but this reminds me of a crime scene. You've got a faceless victim, laying on the floor, surrounded by debris:

Where Monsters Go When You Grow Up Giveaway (TWO WINNERS!)

As an (aspiring) English teacher, I recognize the importance of reading to a child's development. And not just reading alone - reading together with adults is not only a great way for the adults to model good reading skills, it's also a wonderful way for children and family to bond.

Enter Where Monsters Go When You Grow Up! This book, written and illustrated by a father of two from Austin, TX, is designed specifically for adults and children to read together.

The story centers on a little girl,

the monsters in her closet,

and Daddy, who always comes in to save the night ("because everybody knows monsters are afraid of parents!").

Where Monsters Go When You Grow Up is not only a loving look at a parent who addresses his child's fears in a kind and humorous way, it is also a story of life and growing up: What does happen to those monsters in the closet when a child stops believing in them? What happens to Daddy when his little girl doesn't need him to save her from the big, bad monsters anymore?

I'm not going to lie; I tear up just a little every time I read this book, and I don't even have children yet. But, as Reading Rainbow said, don't take my word for it - here are some of the reviews from amazon.com:

As long as kids continue to have imaginations, monsters will always be with us. But just because we might know they're creatures of the imagination, does not mean that we should ignore the fears of our children who "know" they're real. This book shares one father's very loving way of dealing with those "pesky" monsters, while at the same time validating his child's beliefs and fears.

My wife and I just finished reading this children's book and intend to read it to our little grandchildren. In a very tender and sensitive way, Mr. Dorchak has handled children's irrational but very real fears of "monsters in the closet." Through this wonderfully crafted story, we see a parent not ridicule his child's irrational fears, but lovingly meet the child at her own level of understanding and deliver her safely from "the monsters." For every parent with a child who fears those "monsters" in the dark, this book offers a solution because everybody knows monsters are afraid of parents.

Where Monsters Go is a really cool book. It's great to see a children's book that is done specifically for parents to read to and with their kids! This is a fun, touching story with really cute drawings. The words chosen and ideas presented encourage conversations between parents and their kids. I especially loved the fact that it allows the parent to be the hero in their child's world - that is priceless.

The Giveaway

Greg is giving away two autographed copies of Where Monsters Go When You Grow Up to one of my readers! I just know you're going to love it, so I've included lots of options for you to earn entries! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below, and remember that you can tweet twice per day (there are two different sets of text) for bonus entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway