The following entries have been chosen as winners in the TSOYA Holiday Awesome competition.
Congratulations to all the winners, your prizes are in the mail. The standard of the entries was really high – I had a tough job judging them. Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter – they were all great - you’re all winners in my eyes!
That’s it from me as intern with TSOYA I’m afraid – I’m heading off back to Ireland. I really enjoyed my time here. Thanks to Jesse and Theresa for being so awesome! And thanks to all you guys who I’ve been in contact with during my time here.
Happy Holidays!
And the Winners are.....
Prize: Dr. Katz DVD Collection.Dave Shumka gave us this amazing JJGo Montage! I love this!
Prize: Dr. Katz DVD Collection.Check out
Ramsey Ess’s Christmas cartoon..
Prize: The Chapelle Show Collection.Emily Tilles showed us her baking and decorating skills with this fabulous and original Darth Vader Christmas cookie.
Prize: The Chapelle Show Collection.Carol Martucci make some fantastic origami Christmas decorations – which now have pride of place on Jesse, Theresa and Cocoa’s Christmas tree. Sorry I haven't got any pics of the decorations!
Prize: The Chapelle Show Collection.Justin Zell gave us this awesome
Santa Con video.
Prize: The Dangerous Book For Dogs.Tom Deja gave us this super
Holiday Mix – he also did the illustrations and jewel case design! Have a listen on iTunes or any other music player you might prefer.
Prize: The Dangerous Book For Dogs.This is Ben Watt’s John Hodgman Christmas tree – I’m pretty sure he super-imposed a pic of John’s head onto a photo of a Christmas tree and hasn’t actually chopped off John’s head and stuck it on his real live Christmas tree at home.
Prize: TSYOA Poster.Sid Miller put pen to paper and composed this poetic gem:
A Jew Sets Out Walking Christmas Morning Through Orange CountyLeaving the cul-de-sac of my home
I set out walking.
A T-shirt, shorts, Chuck Taylor's
without socks -
The seventy-eight degrees
heats manure from the horse stables -
I take in the scent.
The sidewalks are wide and clean,
the streets empty.
Ten miles to the ocean.
I walk in steps that I've seen before,
like Moses through this disguised desert
past palm trees and mirages of smiling faces.
I don't have a staff,
only a pocketful of joints,
a disposable lighter
and the image of waves breaking
in my head.
I walk past black cars shining,
giving off my reflection every ten feet -
past sprinklers making
rainbows in the winter, color on top of color-
past ghosts of old friends
and enemies that bark
like dogs behind metal gates,
past rows of shaped hedges
and brown wrapped packages on doorsteps.
Eight miles to go.
This road is like Las Vegas Boulevard -
the end always in sight,
but hours to come
Every strip mall, every McDonalds,
is an oasis -
veering into empty parking lots,
I slap my shoes and sing
to the geometric beauty
of white lines.
Lying on grassy islands,
watching heat rise,
I fill my nostrils
with the warm scent of asphalt.
But being too restless
I leave comfort for blisters -
take to the sidewalk.
With five miles to go
El Toro Road ends,
sidewalk ends.
My shoes land on real earth,
this land too rugged,
too jagged to bulldoze.
I remember these hills -
wandering with the thoughts
that there might be more
to this world.
Hiding in caves of rocks round
and drinking whiskey,
covering myself in cattails -
now I walk through the center of it,
sweat under my arms
and in the well of my chest.
Salt begins to fill the air.
I crawl under barbed wire,
walk through long grass,
over classified ads, potato chip bags
and shards of glass.
Three miles pass in a minute,
as I retrace the steps
that have brought me back.
With two miles to go
my feet feel lighter,
back onto sidewalk,
passing art galleries -
pictures of whales,
sculptures of dolphins
and dark little bistros
with signs hanging from doors
that read:
"CLOSED FOR XMAS."
With one mile to go
people emerge, tourists from places
where Christmas doesn't exist.
With the stores closed
we are forced to look
into one another's eyes -
a silent feeling of comradery,
all of us on our own walks
with our own staffs in our hands -
nobody saying a word,
not even coughing.
And at last the beach comes,
the sun beginning to set.
I take off my shoes
and walk in the sand,
my footprints
my only gift.
I sit and watch the sun fall,
the smog creating colors more beautiful
than God could ever imagine.
Prize: Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of The Planet EarthResa Latour’s “Holiday Awesome” collage is pretty neat, don’t ya think?
Prize: Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of The Planet EarthChad Johnson sent a beautiful Christmas bookmark – apologies that I don’t have a copy to show you on the site, but trust me it’s awesome!
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