Two things to mention in this post.
First the contest! Thanks to everyone for your creativity and effort, but in the end my favourite was Caterina's poem. Here it is again if you haven't read it yet:

A tempting group of treats I see,
all arranged attractively
Some Pepsi drinks,
A Beer Shampoo
Pepper Fruits and Caramels too
Who will win them?
We will see...
Dare I hope it will be me?

My hair could really use a drink.
Azuki's a nice shade of pink.
Pepper Fruit might make me sneeze
But Shiso's like a summer breeze.

Most importantly, at least to me
(and I think that Genghis would agree)
I need the caramel. That one treat
Would make my Christmas quite complete.

Well, there it is. My heartfelt plea
That the prize will go to me
But if you give it to another
I won't hold that against you, brother.

Nice one Caterina, you've got talent! Send me an email (look in the 'About' page to find mine) with your address and the prize is yours. Don't wait too long though, if I don't hear from you in one week I'll choose someone else!

Everyone else, don't despair as there will be more contests and prizes in the future. Don't feel bad JC, your time will come!

Next up, Haloscan, the purveyor of commenting software on this site for the last 3 years, has suddenly decided to upgrade to something called 'Echo' and charge for its services. 'Come on!' I say. No reason to pay for commenting software when other free, not to mention better, options still exist! So I've switched over to 'Intense Debate', which is miles ahead of Haloscan in truth, should've switched years ago. Only thing is, all the lovely comments you've made over the years, some 2500 of them, will vanish in a couple of weeks (only to exist as xml files on my hard drive), which I guess is what I deserve for putting my site in their thrall for so long. Still, no guarantee that Intense Debate won't do the same thing in a year or two!
Anyway if there's some way to import all those comments into the new commenting system I'll do it, but don't hold your breath. In the meantime, let me know what you think of Intense Debate.

All Good Things...
Design Festa Art Exhibition
Gamuso Art Exhibition...
Model Shoot in Ogimachi
Capoeira Photo Shoot
Christmas Contest Results
Christmas Giveaway Contest!
Where in the World is my Painting?
Toilet Sign Helps You Relax
Art Show 2009 - Pink Cow
Kit Kat Contest Winner
Snapple T-Shirt Contest
The Smallest Metropolis
Lucky Sh*t Contest Winner
Japanese Idols - Yuri Ebihara
5 Years of Mike's Blender
Married!
Absinthe
Merry Xmas From Japan
Art Show at the Pink Cow
All Entries