Wednesday, February 28, 2007

FINAL WEEK!

"The flow of time is often cruel...."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Sheik. Starting tomorrow, the contest will be in its final week. I can't believe it's already here! So, how are your entries coming along? Get them submitted? Finalized? Sketched? Started?! If the answer to all of these questions is "No," tsk tsk! I can see that Wii slipping out of your hands like a Wiimote with a broken strap!

C'mon, it's not too late! You can do it!! Resolve to make it happen--to make your masterpiece tonight! ^^



Monday, February 26, 2007

Zelda Haiku

Since this got overshadowed by all the recent drama, I'm bringing it back to the forefront. No sense in letting a few incidents take all the fun out of the event, right? Channel that last-minute nervousness into a creative outlet and help soothe your mind for a moment--by writing a haiku! For those unfamiliar, a haiku is a poem that consists of three lines--the first being five syllables, the second being seven, and the third being five again. Create a haiku that relates to Ocarina of Time and post it in the comments for everyone to enjoy! Here's mine:

Heard from the lake's shore,
Ocarina melodies
Dance along the breeze.


Sunday, February 25, 2007

Poll's Closed.

Okay, I know that this whole deadline extension issue is seeing a lot of debate, but I never expected someone to actually try to manipulate the poll results. What's funny is that a ridiculous amount of votes is still coming in as I type this, despite the fact that I've removed the link to the poll, which confirms the obvious. To the individual responsible, shame on you!! There had better be an apology in my inbox faster than it takes to trace your IP and have your entries disqualified.

Anyways, moving on! I guess I'll just have to base my decision on the input I received before all this nonsense.

The final deadline for contest submissions will remain March 7, 2007.

There's a Wii at stake, yes, but c'mon, people! It's not worth fighting and cheating over. Let's not ruin a good thing, okay?

Friday, February 23, 2007

70,000 Thank Yous!

Whew, what a day! Just last night I received an entry from a contestant who was nice enough to include the URL to the contest blog in her picture, which was also posted to her DeviantArt (DA) account. I noticed that she was receiving a LOT of hits there and thought to myself, "All right, this should help increase my traffic!"

Heh.

This evening, about 50 zillion of those little "Your poll has received 10 more votes!" notification e-mails later, I dropped by DA again to see just how much traffic that pic was getting! Lo and behold, it had made the site's home page! I took a screenshot and circled her pic in green:


I was thrilled, both for her and for all the exposure the contest was getting as a result! A little later I checked my Photobucket account, and it reported a whopping 70,000 hits! At 24 pics per page, that's almost 3,000 pageviews, right? And that's not even counting before I moved the entries to Photobucket! Wow!! I just hope the bandwidth holds out, heh!

A great, big note of thanks to you, messa, and everyone who's helped drive traffic to the contest blog! ^^

*EDIT: Please note that this post does NOT mean I will show bias for or against any entry based on its popularity or number of hits. Each picture will be judged solely by its content.


Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Need More Time?

First of all, I'm pleased to report that the host switch went smoothly and successfully! Now that that's all taken care of, there's something else I'd like to address. A number of individuals have contacted me requesting that the submission deadline for entries be extended. Me, I'd personally love to do this, since I'm enjoying every minute of it and hate to see it end. For contestants who have already submitted entries, though, this could feel unfair, and that's understandable. Then again, maybe it's not such a big deal. Thus, before deciding on this issue, I'd like to know what you all think--in the contest's second visitor poll!

*EDIT: The poll is now closed due to vote tampering.

I was thinking March 31 would be the new deadline if an extension is granted. The poll will be closed on February 28. Thanks for your input!