Last year I participated in Blogathon, which is an organized event for a charity of the author’s choice which involves said blog author to post every 30 minutes for 24 hours.
48 blog posts in 24 hours is quite the feat but with the encouragement of the entire Blogathon community, your readers, friends who bring you coffee, and a husband that wraps a blanket around you while you stare at your MacBook at 2am… it’s not half-bad. I even got some nice press. The big thing is that it’s all for a good cause. You get to put in the effort and produce bucket-loads of content for your readers in hopes they will pledge and donate to keep you going.
Unfortunately while looking up information on Blogathon 2008 I discovered that the official website (and pledge tracking system) will not be in operation this year. I’ve decided to take it upon myself to initiate a Blogathon on my own. I don’t have a fancy site that can track donations with a fun little thermometer but I’m working on setting something up with a local non-profit.
With that being said… would anyone be interested in joining me for such an event? Not literally joining me on my couch at 3:00am… and 3:30am.. and 4:00am, but putting in a similar effort on their site. The logistics need to be worked out, pledges need to be tracked, and you will have to blog for 24 hours straight at one point this summer. However, the warm fuzzies will abound and we’ll be able to use our blogging powers for good.
Last year my amazing readers raised over $400 for the Surrey Food Bank. I’m hoping to shatter that record this year… you know once I figure absolutely everything else out.
[poll=8]
Update: So I was thinking since it’s just pledges I need to handle, I could create like pledge AT Miss604.com, then once the Blogathon is over I’d follow up with folks and provide the link to the online donation page of the non-profit of my choice. However, I’m not sure how this would work for *everyone* as then we’d all have to manage our pledges this way/create an email account. Hmm…
Update: Some people have picked up the ball and are going ahead with Day of Blogs on what would have been the same day as Blogathon 2008, July 26th.
I’ve noticed this a lot around town lately. The seemingly totally unrelated advertisements that don’t even feature the product they’re selling. Must be a new trend.
Here’s an add for Aldo, the shoe store (right) that you can find on bus stops downtown. It seems they’re selling the fun and playful lifestyle more than shoes although if you didn’t know what an “Aldo” was it could even be for cosmetics, clothing, some type of pill that makes you dance and be happy or a condo in Yaletown.
On that note, back to the real estate…
There’s a development on Davie and Howe called “Alto“, which boasts roomy 10 foot ceilings and a comfy downtown location. On the main Davie street-facing sign there’s a photo of a dog chasing a ball. What that has to do with the condos is beyond me. Better yet, on their website they have a photo of some of the promo buttons.
Again, these don’t quite get me thinking real estate. I suppose the idea is to get your attention and make you visit the website.
I remember in high school for Student Council elections one candidate’s campaign included a huge hand-painted sign hanging over the main stairwell. In big bold letters it said SEX and below it in fine print it said, “now that I have your attention, vote so-and-so for Student Council.”
I admit that I love a clever ad campaign (diamond Shreddies anyone?) as just yesterday I Twittered about the E-trade baby and the clown version of that series of commercials. At least we know what he’s selling eh.
Am I requesting that all ads be literal? Not really, but however witty and clever I think sometimes the silliness just gets taken a little too far. Do people like not knowing what the product is about when they see an ad? Does a photo of a woman in a bathing suit floating in a pool of tranquil water make you want a buy a home? I guess so, I mean at least the bloggers are talking about it so if the goal was to create a buzz in that manner, it’s working.
On Saturday night before taking in the Von Bondies show at Richards on Richards, we walked down into Yaletown for a quick pint. Milestones looked packed so we walked about 200 yards past it and stopped it at another restaurant.
As the waitress was pouring John’s Guinness into his glass I noticed something and couldn’t get out the words, “ugh lipstick marks!” until it was too late. His glass indeed had lip imprints caked on by the dishwasher (at least we hope).
Henry sent me a link through del.icio.us to this CBC story on Friday, “49 Metro Vancouver restaurants have violated health standards since January.” Sure enough, I checked the attached PDF and Saturday’s restaurant was on there for “Pest infestation, Failure to maintain premises, equipment and utensils in sanitary conditions.” I wish we would have seen this before the weekend but I’m also pretty glad all we did was have a pint.
The PDF contains 48 more establishments around Metro Vancouver that have failed to comply to health standards over the last few months. It also lists the dates that these places were closed and reopened although unfortunately I think Saturday’s restaurant hasn’t quite learned their lesson yet. I suggest you take a quick look before planning your next dine-out experience.
A while back our friend DaveO suggested a grand tour of local and city-run par three golf courses in and around Vancouver. Seeing as how I’ve only played courses in Surrey, and one pitch and putt in Vancouver, I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to play and tell as we go.
Here’s a quick list of some local Pitch and Putts, all of which are low-dough (under $12 to play 18 holes).
Park Use Clearly marked trails make for nice long walks. Central Park also offers children playground and a great pitch-and-putt for those of you who love golf. If you are a nature lover, this urban forest will give you lots of trees to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
History “According to The Greater Vancouver Book (Editor in Chief: Chuck Davis)1, it was once a naval reserve set aside as a source of masts and spars for ships of the Royal Navy. The park was named to honour Mrs. David Oppenheimer, the wife of Vancouver’s second mayor, who was born in New York City.” [Central Park, Burnaby Wikipedia]
Notes I normally would only swing by Central Park whenever I visit my Burnaby-based friends. I expected it to be incredibly busy. However, I found that it was really nice to just walk around with my friend and spend a leisurely evening without all the hordes of people that flock to Stanley Park or Queen Elizabeth Park.
Here’s an add for 
