The Finalists – It’s time to VOTE! (Who’s going to win the WII?)

Congratulations to all the finalists, and thank you to everyone who took part in my “Super Deluxe 10 Yr. Bloggoversary Contest”! Below are the 20 finalists, and I have to tell ya, this was tough to choose!

Voting is open until Saturday night (September 30th) at 11:59pm PDT – Don’t forget to tell all your friends to vote for your entry! Please keep it fair, and vote only once.

(UPDATE: Just a quick note, guys… Although there is a work-around to put in multiple votes, when I look at the final results in the logs, I will be making sure the vote was fair. Multiple votes from the same machine WILL BE DELETED from the tally.)

I’ll declare the popular winner after the contest closes! Best of luck, everyone!

(VOTE IS ON THE SIDEBAR)

#1 – Rashbre:
NetChick had walked the last part. Along Marine Drive near to the University. The evening had been a blast, out with several friends, first to a bar then on to a club and into a late-happy four a.m finish. So now was already tomorrow, and still buzzing from the evening, she was deliberately alone at this secret and somehow deluxe beach-side vista, spotting silent glints from jets heading into Vancouver International. The Frazer River lazed ahead of her like last night’s metaphor, twists and turns bustling through the city, to chilled culmination at the Pacific. On cue, the sun appeared, a strong lover’s gaze from the East, first rays of a beautiful day. “Wii!”, her mind shrieked, “This is the one; the day to start the blog!”.

#2 – Nick Bazin:
She knocked on my door with one of those knocks that meant you knew your life was about to change. So I quickly did, as the Hawaiian shirt from my festivities the night before in Vancouver would certainly put off any new clientele. “Come in” I requested as I reseated myself and finished buttoning up to the collar. An image of a noose tightening around my neck was quickly dismissed as the door opened. She was the kind of woman you read about in magazines, and then quickly hid the magazine afterwards hoping your mother wouldn’t find it. Every inch of her was made to look like it was at least an inch-and-a-half. Her eyes had that steamy look, you could only get from a really hot iron. Her mouth was as full as a bank at 4:50pm on a Friday afternoon. I could go on describing the rest of her, but I’m running out of metaphors. Or maybe it was this deluxe recliner I’m sitting in, it’s so comfortable and easy to lose my thoughts in. As she walked closer, I finally recognized her. But before I could release my Sherlockian discovery she introduced herself. “Let me introduce myself.” she said, as she towered over me. “My name is Netchick. And Wii have something in common.” “Don’t you mean WE?” I insisted. “Oh, forgive me, sometimes my French accent kicks in.” She apologized. “Perhaps I overestimated you. Your knack for narration is much funnier than I thought it would be.” “You’re too kind.” I thanked her, “but you really must be going. I hit 250 words like 13 words ago.” She frowned, and at that moment I knew I had a made a mistake. The kind of mistake that I will end up paying for the rest of my life and posting about in my blog eternally. My Hawaiian shirt started to go up in flames, as I ran over to it and tried to pull it out of the fireplace. “Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

#3 – Gregg:
As an example of a blog contest that requires a post, I’m presenting the newest contest I have come across. Why the newest, and not one from my backlog? Because this contest is being run in celebration of a milestone that deserves a post even if there was no contest involved. Netchick, aka Tanya, is celebrating her 10 year anniversary of blogging next month! That’s right, 10 years! When I reached the 10 year mark of just being connected to the internet, that made me an uber-geek. To have actually been blogging for that length of time is truly something special. To celebrate, Tanya is holding a contest to give away a Nintendo Wii. You can enter one of two ways, the first being to post the above banner on your blog from now until the anniversary date of September 30th; the other is to make a comment on her contest post that meets certain criteria. As always, visit the blog itself for the exact rules; you can click on the banner above to get to her contest details. I doubt that Tanya even knows I am a reader of her site; but she holds a spot in my Local Blogs folder in Google Reader, one of the few folders I regularly check out even when life is too busy and I shouldn’t be. As I’ve mentioned before, if I am aware of a Vancouver area blog, I will be checking it out; but it has to be a good local blog to keep me reading. Tanya’s content is a well written collection of local events, personal events and dating stories. What sets her apart from other personal blogs is that even when she is complaining about life events or being single, she manages to come across as a happy person. Hopefully my impression is correct. So pop on over to enter her blog contest, but do return to read what is going on in this netchick’s life.

#4 – (Mike) Mr. Althouse:
I first heard the term “blog” about five years ago. I understand that “web logging” has existed as long as the web has, and online journals of one sort or another have been around since the bulletin board service (bbs) was the de facto online community. Although blogs as we know them today have existed for more than ten years (even though the term “blog” was not coined until 1999), most bloggers cannot claim to have been in the game that long. My first blog was created – after much resistance – in December 2005. I am still very much a newcomer. I have been fortunate, however, to have established relationships throughout the world with many, many other bloggers. Some have been at it for quite some time. One in particular is celebrating 10 years of blogging on September 30. By any measure, this makes her a blogging pioneer. Tanya, also known as NetChick, is, in her own words, “living my dream in beautiful downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada.” She is celebrating her 10-year anniversary with a super-deluxe blog contest. The grand prize? A Nintendo Wii! And this post is part of my entry. Although I would love to win a Wii, this post is really about paying homage to one who has blazed a virtual trail. Tanya was there early on when the blogosphere must have been a very lonely place. Much of the blog tools we take for granted today were not even a twinkle in some programmer’s eye ten years ago, yet NetChick and others kept on writing. Did they know this thing would take off the way it has? I suspect that they might have had a feeling… but could anyone predict the phenomenon blogging has become? I’m over my 250 words; the link to NetChick’s contest is on top of my sidebar. Come check it out!

#5 – The Mysterious J:
He’d seen this coming, the rise of the Wii, Nintendo’s lastest gaming console, he’d seen it coming a kilometre away, but he’d not expected it to be this fast. In less than one year’s time the Wii had sprinted past it’s competition without any real signs of losing it’s pace, it’s was frightening, to think how that Nintendo had finally gotten back to where it should have always been, in the heart of the gaming market, helping to direct it. But what was making everyone else dance to Nintendo’s tune? Sure, he wanted it himself, but J was a Nintendo fan-boy, he’d had one of their systems almost every generation, if not exactly at release, so he’d been steeped in the Kool-Aid too long to trust his opinion. J had to investigate, see what was making this tiny white box into the ultimate, must-have gaming item, he hit the blogs. Wading through the vast array of opinions, two things constantly came up, those who loved the games, with their intuitive controls and enjoyable play, and those which were dissatisfied with it’s graphics. And these were not just the gamers talking, the Wii had created a buzz, an almost tangible aura, which even if not everyone liked, everyone felt. This palpable sensation reflected Nintendo’s message, that gaming should be fun, not just flashy. Then he saw it, his chance to own one himself, a Vancouver blogger called NetChick, was having a blowout contest, a celebration of her 10th year of Internet pontification, her, “Super Delux 10 Year Bloggoversary Contest.” The prize was tantalizing, a gift card worth one Nintendo Wii, all he had to do was make a short story that would catch her eye and the prize would be his, and the Wiidom would commence, now if only he didn’t have perpetual writer’s block and an utter lack of talent.”He’d seen this coming, the rise of the Wii, Nintendo’s lastest gaming console, he’d seen it coming a kilometre away, but he’d not expected it to be this fast. In less than one year’s time the Wii had sprinted past it’s competition without any real signs of losing it’s pace, it’s was frightening, to think how that Nintendo had finally gotten back to where it should have always been, in the heart of the gaming market, helping to direct it. But what was making everyone else dance to Nintendo’s tune? Sure, he wanted it himself, but J was a Nintendo fan-boy, he’d had one of their systems almost every generation, if not exactly at release, so he’d been steeped in the Kool-Aid too long to trust his opinion. J had to investigate, see what was making this tiny white box into the ultimate, must-have gaming item, he hit the blogs. Wading through the vast array of opinions, two things constantly came up, those who loved the games, with their intuitive controls and enjoyable play, and those which were dissatisfied with it’s graphics. And these were not just the gamers talking, the Wii had created a buzz, an almost tangible aura, which even if not everyone liked, everyone felt. This palpable sensation reflected Nintendo’s message, that gaming should be fun, not just flashy. Then he saw it, his chance to own one himself, a blogger called NetChick, was having a blowout contest, a celebration of her 10th year of Internet pontification, her, “Super Delux 10 Year Bloggoversary Contest.” The prize was tantalizing, a gift card worth one Nintendo Wii, all he had to do was make a short story that would catch her eye and the prize would be his, and the Wiidom would commence, now if only he didn’t have perpetual writer’s block and an utter lack of talent.

#6 – Belle:
Just when I thought there was no other like me….I found NetChick! Our lives so oposite yet our minds alike. Her blog, my blog; wii share similar thoughts. Our life lessons learned through completely different experiences, her world unlike mine yet our journeys have been quite the same. Tonite I am her as she writes in July of ‘03 that she cannot sleep, just too much on the mind. But as she write a few weeks later “I will get through this challenging time”, hopefully my fate will be the same. She feels bad when she does not post as often as she feels she should, she questions why her stomach ails when she pities herself. She boasts her pride for her life in Vancouver. I weep for the life I left behind in such a beautiful place. She writes about a homeless man she turned down and the guilt that riddled her an hour later. She tells of the simples pleasure of recieving flowers at work. These same words I have written. Many times I have been thanked for allowing someone to connect with me through my blog, this is the first that I have found the same. Ten years of blogging is something to celebrate, for myself it is only two. To share one’s life, the good, the bad and the personal is a gift; to yourself and those that may stumble upon your words. From a thirty-something in Niagara to a thirty-something in Vancouver, keep finding the deluxe when life just sucks! Keep dreaming, keep searching, keep blogging! Congrats on ten years, here’s to ten more!

#7 – Ed:
It is better to be a Netchick than a gross chick; It is better to be a low class bum sleeping on Wall Street, than be one of those deluxe bums working on Wall Street; And I think I would like to be the person living in Vancouver who has earnt enough from a 10 year old blog to be able to give away a Wii. I don’t know if it is going to happen, but if I were to win, the announcement would be: The winner is Netguy who has been blogging for one year next Thursday, has never been to Vancouver, and never played with a Wii. Is that fair to the rest of the competition, is that justice, is that enough questions to pad this post out to 250 words? I think not, but if I add in the spaces between the words, value them at a ratio of 3 spaces for one character, 5 characters per word, that gives me an extra 40 invisible words, making a gross total of 220 words. As a reward for punctuatingwherenecessaryIhave attributed an extra 10 words worth of credit to the total, pushing me closer to 250 with every little tap on the shiny black keys. Is that how you play a Wii, pressing keys? Maybe I will find out. If you win, you don’t get to go to Vancouver, the Wii comes to you, but it is worth trying to win anyway. Here is the Netchick’s site.

#8 – (Rebecca) Miss604:

NetChick is celebrating 10 years of super deluxe blogging in Vancouver and to spread the joy she’s giving away a Wii. In a recent conversation with Tanya I found out we actually both made websites in 1997 through Rogers with hideous http://members.home.com/yourname/yoursitenamehere.html” kinda urls. Well sort of, mine was a fan site for my favourite band at the time that quickly died but she started an empire. She was blogging, webcam’ing and has been going strong ever since. Her ability to interact with her readers and share personal stories to such a captive audience is unsurpassed in this city. Of course this is my entry into the contest but this is also such a wonderful milestone I’m happy to promote it in any way I can. Miss604 is going into its 4th year of blog-dom and I can hardly fathom what this will all be after 10 years.

#9 – Darren:

The Foreigner movie

CONGRATS on your anniversary! Here’s my entry: Earlier this summer a friend and I were playing tennis down at Kits beach when we ‘kind of noticed’ a small army of heavily logo-ed smart cars lined up in the parking lot. Upon first glance, one may write this one off to pure coincidence, but a couple of points of reference made me think otherwise. What exactly made you think that, you ask? Maybe just a half-dozen deluxe Nintendo wii banners the size of small giraffes marking their territory with hoardes of onlookers (didn’t notice NetChick there) performing quasi-acrobatic moves and making strange noises. This was either going to be something really wrong or really cool…I had to investigate further and start blogging away! I have tried the wii system before and I really think Nintendo has managed to re-invent how people play video games. After talking to some of the reps standing besides the pimped out smart cars (complete with huge flat screen TVs, hardwired wii systems, extra batteries, and an endless game library) I discovered that a Vancouver marketing firm (inventa) were behind this campaign and responsible for this ’spectacle on the beach’. By actually trying out wii, you are entered for a chance to win a wii system and a fortwo smart car as well! All in all, it was a good day (despite the fact I lost in tennis) and a really interesting 20 minutes or so of jumping around like Michael Jackson did in ‘85. I mean, I was boxing with someone who was probably more than twice my age. It was a clean fight.

#10 – Tod: Gamer dvd
What can I say? Tanya introduced me to my wife. I had a profile up on some dating web site, as did Kim, and Tanya connected the two of us. Sadly, although the marriage did not last, the great memories and love did. This NetChick will always hold a very special place in my heart. Tanya, Kim, and I went on a cruise in the Caribbean, back when Kim and I were dating. We were like two lovebirds, cooing over each other, enjoying the deluxe cheese platters and fruity martinis. I actually think Tan’s eyes nearly froze in the “rolled eyes” position that trip! But it was a wonderful time that I will always remember. So it wasn’t surprising when she took up blogging with a passion. Tanya’s a people person. She finds people interesting; she lives off the spirit of friendship and connection. There aren’t many people who give themselves so freely like that in Vancouver. It’s part of what makes the city great. Truth be told, I’d have written this anyway, but the shot at winning a Wii is, er, even more incentive! xoxo

#11 – Richgold:
“Wii!” NetChick screamed as she simultaneously typed an entry to her blog all the while driving her Little Tikes Deluxe Cozy Convertible Care . She was a multiplexing kind of gal, even at such a tender age. 10 years later, she looks back at her first attempts and laughs a deep, throaty laugh. Ah ha ha! How far I’ve come. Living the life of Riley now, as luck would have it, the world had changed it’s orbit, and now evolved around her. She was living her dream in beautiful downtown Vancouver, where her horoscope forecasted the inevitable greater success. She was on track to collide with destiny. She was ready for anything life could throw at her. Impulsiveness could be embraced. Only those in her circle of care knew what was going on, though her latest blog entries were laced with hints. It was big. Did she get the position of next network TV star talk show host as a result of her mid-week socializing game? Has she met a Mr. Right? (or Mr. Left?) With seventy-five, no seventy-one, no sixty-eight words to go, there are so many questions that remain. NetChick we’re tuned in. What’s new? Enquiring minds want to know?

#12 – Cynthia:
doo-doo-doodoo, doo-doo-doo (the opening notes of the sex & the city theme song playing- c’mon work with me here, it’s tough to communicate in written form…!) tonight’s episode: is blogging the new black?
Tanya pondered this question as she sat in her apartment, flicking her favorite Manolos from her toes, and wrote her first entry for her fabulous new urban blog, aptly named “NetChick”. she had been out on the town the night before with her 3 best friends, sipping cosmos at the new Vancouver hotspot “Deluxe”. a tall, dark and handsome guy approached her, his name eluded her, but she thought of him now as “Mr. Blog”. much discussion had ensued over the topic of blogging, something that Tanya had considered doing and had started that day just for fun- let’s see what happens, she thought as she typed her first entry. Mr. Blog was extremely charming, clever and witty. she smiled to herself thinking, I can see myself in this for a long time…. fast forward to 10 years later and as Tanya perused the entries to her 10 year bloggiversary contest to win a Wii, something that topped the list of one her most favorite things, (move over oprah!), she wondered, “is blogging the new black?”. She had seen others come and go but she had stayed true to her faithful (Mr.) Blog. She paused and gazed out the window of her apartment, overlooking the fashionable Robson Street she thought to herself, wow! 10 years of blogging- I could really get into this! and with that, she headed out to Zin to meet up with her friends for another fun night on the town.

#13 – Zoe:
Our story begins in a hallway where a long lineup of girls wait impatiently to prove themselves to the movie director sitting behind the closed door. but then, that’s a rather common sight in vancouver. These women are of all ages, sizes and backgrounds, each dressed as their favorite super hero. There’s She-Ra, Cat Woman, Wonder Woman, but the one we’re most interested in is dressed rather simply albit stylishly and is sitting in the corner with a laptop open. She’s so focused on her typing that she is taken completely by surprise when another girl trips over her. “Oh, oops, sorry about that. I was so busy looking around, I didn’t notice you there on the floor.” Our heroine flips her braids behind her and looks up. “No worries,… Hey wait a sec, who are you dressed as?” “Netchick of course, my favorite super hero. I’ve got the black leather suit, the sexy blonde hair, and my fave method of connecting to the internet.” This new girl holds up her iphone, set in a pink holder with rhinestones. “Wha? The iphone isn’t even released in Canada or I’d know about it. And there is no way you can be Netchick, since I’m the real Netchick.” “Says who?” “Says me, and the thousands of people who read my blog. I mean, look at you. Your hair isn’t even done correctly. Everyone knows that Netchick wears her hair in two thick braids with black hair ties. Yours is loose and all over the place. Netchick is posh, stylish. Your outfit is so trashy. And the iphone? I don’t think so.” Slowly the other girls around them begin to move, giving the two more space. It looks like this could get heated and no one wants to get in the middle of these two. “Hey, I’m just here to try out for this show. Are you really going to make something of this?” “You’re an imposter. And there is no way I am going to let someone who doesn’t even understand me to use and abuse my hard earned reputation. So yes, I am going to make something of this. In fact I know just the way to prove that you could never be Netchick.” With that, she grabs the backpack sitting beside her and pulls out a portable tv, a wii, and two controllers. “I am going to give you a such a deluxe beating on this thing. I may not have any super powers but believe me, you will be crying by the end of this.” And with that our favorite Netchick gives the girls in the hall a true showing of how to play on the wii. And before she knows it, everyone around her is cheering and the other girl is no where to be found. “Ha, I knew she couldn’t cut it.” The controllers get passed over to the others to help with the boredom while Netchick goes back to her typing. Just another day in the life of a Vancouver super chick.

#14 – Irene:
I need to get the required words out of the way in the first few lines. I am not 30-something so my memory is not as good as some. A Vancouver NetChick who is a very pretty (if her pic is any indication), female who likes to blog, is having a contest for a Wii – the deluxe game from Nintendo – which I would love to win. Wow – I did it; in one sentence!!! Not too bad. There are some very interesting and imaginative stories already written so I will just ramble rather than write a story. Oh to be 30-something again…..well, no…I refuse to look back. Every year is its own chapter in the book of life. (Did I just say that??? That’s deep!) Sure I would change some of the choices I made, but each choice took me down another road. Other choices might have made for a smoother and easier life but it would have changed the person I am today. Like me or not, this is who I am. Had I made other choices, I would be a different person. Interesting….I have never thought about this topic before but just ‘blogging’ (never thought I would be accused of doing that) has got me thinking. Actually thnking about Tanya – a 30-something NetChick who is living her idea of the ideal life made me think about when I was 30-something. I don’t think I would have called my life ideal, but I still wouldn’t change it. I was a mother of two young ones at that time and to wish my life were different might mean they would not be mine and I would never, ever want that. I am happy Tanya is living her dream life. I love the phrase ‘No Regrets’ but unfortunately I am more like Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’….Regrets..I’ve have a few, but then again, too few to mention….

#15 – Sonya:
I woke up one morning in beautiful British Columbia and turned on my computer using my deluxe edition of Windows. I checked my emails, visited a few forums and went to update my blog. Blogging has become one of the neatest trends online, just ask NetChick, she’s been doing it now for 10 fun filled years – Wii (WEEEEEEEEEE) As I was surfing the net, posting to blogs and forums, I came across an advertisement in regards to Pre-Season NHL info. Being a huge fan of the Vancouver Canucks, I had to see what it was about. I clicked the banner and to my surprise it was an article written about the Vancouver Canucks. They are coming out with a new jersey for the 2007 – 2008 season and will be revealing it in the General Motors Place. Being the number one fan, I had to scream with excitement, Wii…… and of course I had to get tickets to be in the GM place at the time of the revealing. The best place to find out about Vancouver is of course at NetChicks blog and instead of getting hockey tickets from her site, I just may end up with a Nintendo Wii which will be as exciting as the Canucks winning the Stanley Cup this year!!!

#16 – Mistress: West of Brooklyn
I arrived home very excited at my newest purchase of the new Wii deluxe system I had made.As I was hooking it up to my television and readung the manual for the new game blogging I heard a small sofy voice coming from the game package. I was shocked to hear this little voice but they sounded like they were in a panic so I quickly through in the game and pressed start.To my amazement there was a girl on the enter screen crying for me to click enter and click on her icon.I quickly did and she said she had a mission for me. “Hi my name is NetChick and I’ve been trapped in this game by the evil blogger Boo Radley.I need you to quickly find the clues in the SC (smart canucks) blog and get me out of here.” I took a step back from the game not knowing what the heck was going on.I thought I was having a bad dream,when the phine rang and I hesitently answered it. “Hello” I said when I heard an evil laughter of the one and only Boo Radley. “I see you were the unlucky one that bought the first ever deluxe Wii addition and now it is you that has to rescue NetChick from the game.” more evil laughter came from Boo. ” I have erased the SC blog you will never rescue NetChick now.” more evil laughter then the phone died. I ran back to the television and seen NetChick chicking at the television screen :Hurry,you must Hurry….” At that moment a hured of SC’ers busted through my door as they had all recieved the phone call that I would need their help or I too would be lost in the game and others would follow. “Mistress I have all the SC blogs backlogged on my computer and prinyed out everything you need to get NetChick out of the game and destroy Boo Radley” Rita Heyworth said as she throw a tiny chip into the side of the Wii and a ton of Information started downloading and as the information started downloading Boo Radley rushed in and started to grab the Wii. “Only 2 more minutes and all the info NetChick needs will be there for her to escape.Someone grab Boo.” And before Rita could finish what she was saying Pippi had caught Boo’s immage on the computer webcam and started to erase him and redesign him. Boo couldn’t move and was screaming and struggling frantically,when out of the blue RoseOfBlack25 knocked him on the head with her new package of free samples. As we all sat back and watched NetChick emerge from the Wii we all were amazed that the first words she spoke were. “Geeze how do I get back to Vancouver?Ontario is mighty cold at this time of year.”

#17 – Krislyn:
Once upon a time in the world of Wii lived a blogging princess named NetChick. NetChick was a fair maiden with long blonde hair and amazing Blogging talents who lived in a castle. One day the princess NetChick decided she wanted a handsom prince to join her in Wii and decided to have a deluxe blogging championship and the winner would be her new prince. On the day of the deluxe blogging championship princes came from near and as far as Vancouver to win the hand of the fair NetChick. But only one Price had the skills to win and that was Prince Mii.
So the beautiful Princess NetChick and The handsome Prince Mii got married and lived happily ever after in the word of Wii.

#18 – Pram:

Here is my entry for the contest. I didn’t want to go too much over the 250 limit. Congratulations on 10 years of blogging, and I will bookmark your blog, from what I have read I really like it and will be coming back to read more. My submission is below, hope everyone gets a laugh or at least a chuckle out of it. ~~~~ Tonight was a big night for NetChick, she was going to go on her first date with a prince. She knew he was a real prince because he was wearing a crown in his online picture. The plans for tonight were for him to pick her up at her condo and they would take a nice drive by the coast in Vancouver and then they would go to his Castle and have dinner. There was a knock on the door, it was her prince. He was wearing his crown, up close it looked like it was a Burger King crown with some gold paint on it. NetChick thought to herself that it must be the lighting in the hall which is making his crown look like it is made from paper. Well down they went in the elevator to his car. NetChick assumed since he was a prince he would have a limousine, she spent all day imagining what it was going to be like to ride in a limousine. But when they got outside NetChick did not see a limousine all she saw was bicycle for two people. She asked her prince where their ride was, and he pointed to the bicycle. NetChick asked him “Are we going to ride to your castle on this?” Her prince looked at and said “yes, the White Castle burger joint is two blocks from here, and I can finally order the deluxe meal, I have never had a date before so I could never order the deluxe meal.” NetChick, grabbed his crown and realized that it was made of paper, and she wasted a perfectly good day when she could have been blogging and playing her wii.

#19 – alajen:
Ok, here goes with my entry: Courtesy of Boo Radley at smartcanucks, I am visiting NetChick for the first time. Happy to hear that you are also a fellow SCer. Looks like I am just in time to enter your excellent, DELUXE contest. (Sorry, not overly creative and couldn’t figure out another way to squeeze that word in there). I am relatively new to the blogging world, having only started back in March. I consider myself to be a mere beginner in comparison to your 10 years online. As a fellow Vancouver native, I hope to be picked as one of the finalists for this contest and win the Wii. Whew! Now that I’ve dispatched with the word order requirements, here is the story: Once upon a time in the kingdom of Canuck, there lived King Boo and the UPC Queen. They had three daughters: Rita (the Yam Princess), Prue (the Cat-lover Princess), and Pippi (the Punk Princess). One day, the family went for a ride to survey their kingdom and came across a Dragon Baby. The daughters had planted some lovely gardens earlier that year and the Dragon Baby had stomped on them all, just for fun. The Dragon Baby said it was innocent, that it must have been the wind – but you could still see its tracks, even though it had tried to erase them. Princess Rita threw yams at the Dragon Baby, but it ducked behind King Boo. Princess Prue tried to charm the Dragon by feeding it kitty treats, and then Princess Pippi tried to punkify the Dragon, but nothing worked. The Dragon was causing so much distress in the Kingdom of Canuck, that King Boo was forced to ban the Dragon Baby from the kingdom, since it refused to behave itself and play nice.

#20 – Lara:
In honour of your ten year I have composed a limerick:
There once was a NetChick named Tanya
Whose readers thought she was pretty deluxe.
Whilst blog(ging) about Vancouver, dating or drinks,
She always came across as Wii(iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii).