Pull up a chair, we need to talk. I’ve been meaning to discuss this with you for a while now but I wasn’t sure how you would take it so I’ve held off. I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer though so I’ll just come out and say it. Your refrigerator is fucking ugly. I couldn’t even use the condensed word fugly it’s so bad. All the magnets you use to hold up your pictures, little notes, and various lists have slowly created the largest eyesore known to mankind. I know you have a tough time throwing stuff away but the car insurance calendars and realtor advertisements have got to go. Lucky for you I have an adorable handmade Mario-themed magnet set ready to bring your kitchen back to its original glory. I only have one though so you’ll have to fight tooth and nail for your chance to win. To enter, simply submit a two million word essay about the role perler beads (which happens to be what the magnets were crafted from) play in our current society. If you don’t feel like doing that, you can always just leave a comment saying you want the magnets too I suppose.

EDIT: The winner has been notified and has accepted their prize. Congratulations to Artemis, and enjoy the awesome magnets!

Contest Specifics
The magnet set includes 2 marios (1 large, 1 small), 1 princess peach, 1 boo, 1 bullet bill, 1 goomba, 1 piranha plant, 2 clouds (1 small, 1 medium), 1 hill, 2 pipes (1 tall, 1 short), 3 mushrooms (1-up, power-up, poison), 3 coins, 2 item blocks, 1 used item block, 2 bricks, and 1 star. To enter this contest, simply leave a comment on this article. You may leave multiple comments but only your first one will be considered valid. Remember to use a working email address when leaving your comment as that is how the winner will be notified. As with the majority of my contests, I will happily ship anywhere so there are no region restrictions. Entries will be accepted until Monday, October 19th at 11:59 pm PST with the winner (as determined by a random integer generator) being notified on Tuesday, October 20th. The winner will then have three days to respond via email to claim their prize. If the winner does not respond in that time frame, another winner will then be selected. Happy commenting, and good luck!

*A special thank you to Magnet Games for donating a set of their handcrafted goodies!

If the douchebags that insist on referring to the current month as Rocktober make you want to punch someone in the face, you can now respond by throwing a plasma grenade in their general direction and yelling, “Hell no, it’s Sticktober baby!” Hosted by Halo Charts and spanning the entire month of October, this Halo 3-centric challenge focuses on everybody’s favorite blue gas-emitting grenade and how many times you can successfully adhere them to your opponents. Only sticks occurring in ranked playlists will be considered valid, and the player who accumulates the most Grenade Stick! medals at the end of October will be bestowed with a “cool final prize.” As if there’s anything better than knowing that the last thing someone saw before they died was an entire screen of blue. As a wise person once said (which may or may not have been me), it’s time to get stuck bitches!

Read the complete article.
Register for this challenge.

Video game conventions are incredible for two primary reasons- the abundance of women dressed in suggestive video game-themed costumes and the ease at which you can acquire a bag full of awesome swag. I’ve already given you some pictures of the former so now it’s time for your shot at the latter. Up for grabs are all the things I collected from various gaming companies over the long three day weekend, plus a very special item (a Cortana faceplate slathered in autographs) from my own personal collection. If you want to win my PAX ‘09 swag bag, simply leave a comment on this article listing at least one of the Bungie signatures adorning the amazing faceplate. You may comment once a day and while you will not be disqualified for leaving multiple comments, only the first one from each 24 hour period will be considered valid. This giveaway closes on September 24th so hit the jump for the complete list of prizes, close-up pictures of everything, and all the specifics.

• Custom Cortana Xbox 360 faceplate with 15 Bungie employee signatures
• Two Borderlands posters (coverart and characters)
• One Large Orange Blabbelon T-Shirt
• One Medium Black Brink T-Shirt
• One Dead Space Extraction Comic
• One Dante’s Inferno Comic
• One Faunasphere Mouse Pad
• One Aeria Games Power Collection
• One Lord of the Rings Mines of Moria Complete Edition (Windows)
• One Behemoth Lanyard
• Six Card Magic The Gathering Booster Pack
• Buttons (The Saboteur, PAX ‘09, and On Live)
• Fairytale Fights Temporary Tattoos
• Stickers (Rock Band, On Live, and The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom)
• ODST Thingamabob (given out while waiting for the Halo 3: ODST panel)
• Two Codes for PAX Avatar Shirts
• Four squares of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle toilet paper

Contest Specifics
To enter this contest, leave a comment naming at least one of the Bungie signatures on the faceplate (you need not be accurate for your entry to be counted but reasonable effort should be given). If you do not include the required information, your entry will be disqualified. You may leave one comment per 24 hour period (each new day officially starting at 12:01 am PST) and if you leave more, only the first one for each day will be considered official. Remember to use a valid email address when leaving your comment as that is how the winner will be notified. As with the majority of my contests, I will happily ship anywhere so there are no region restrictions. Entries will be accepted until Thursday, September 24th at 11:59 pm PST with the winner (as determined by a random integer generator) being notified on Friday, September 25th. The winner will then have three days to respond via email to claim their prize. If the winner does not respond in that time frame, another winner will then be selected. Happy commenting, and good luck!

EDIT: The winner has been notified and has accepted their prize. Congratulations to TrAvIs 6t6, and enjoy all the swag!

Zuma’s Revenge!, the highly anticipated sequel to the addictively fun puzzle game Zuma, is set to release tomorrow for Windows and Mac. To celebrate the occasion, I recently hosted a giveaway (with game codes made available by the always generous PopCap Games) requiring participants to recreate a Zuma-esque scene in real life and then snap a picture of it. The following are the winning entries to that contest. A word to the wise, don’t even try talking to me, or anybody who won for that matter, for at least a few weeks. Let’s just say we’ll be busy.

Congratulations to the winners, and a special thank you to PopCap for donating the games for this giveaway!

From Xbox.com :

The lazy days of summer are coming to an end, and students across the country are preparing to return to the classrooms. Not to worry, Xbox is here with a fun sweepstakes that could score you some great prizes, including a complete computer setup for your dorm room, or even an Xbox-branded Moped to make sure you get to class on time!

Prizes include an Xbox branded moped, a dorm room technology bundle (personal computer, printer and digital camera ), a Zune 8 GB digital media player, an Xbox 360 wireless controller, varying amounts of Microsoft Points, an Xbox LIVE 12 month gold membership, and a 3 month Netflix gift subscription. Fine print says that this sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!

Read the complete article.
Register for this challenge.

If you know me in the slightest, you are already more than a little familiar with my obsession with Zuma. A furiously fast-paced puzzle game, I never gave up on my goal of completion until I finally watched the end credits roll after over two years of frantic, ball-spewing action. It’s a good thing I solved it because the next version of this ridiculously fun game is set to release for Windows on September 15th. With the return of our favorite spinning frog comes new features, new levels, and even more fun! I’ve already made a date with Zuma’s Revenge! that will take place one week from now and if your schedule happens to be open then, perhaps you’d like to set aside some time as well. I have ten copies of Zuma’s Revenge! to give away and I thought we’d have a little fun. To enter, recreate a Zuma-esque scene in real life and snap a picture of it. You can use marbles, clay, tennis balls, whatever circular objects happen strike your fancy (no hairy ones please) and the best, most creative entries will find themselves with a new game in one week. So what are you waiting for? Grab your camera, find some balls, and have at it!

Contest Specifics
To enter this contest, recreate a Zuma-esque scene in real life, take a picture of it, and send it to hawtymcbloggy [at] gmail.com. Images may not be photoshopped or altered in any way. Entries will be accepted until Sunday, September 13th at 11:59 pm PST with the winners being notified on Monday, September 14th. Winners will have three days to respond via email to claim their prize. If someone does not respond in that time frame, another winner will then be selected. All winners will deal directly with PopCap to obtain their prizes. Questions may be sent to hawtymcbloggy [at] gmail.com.

This particular giveaway is being held in conjunction with The Fundfax Fairraiser thus only people who donated to that effort are eligible to win. Thank you for understanding!

While the winning numbers for The Fundfax Fairraiser have already been drawn, prizes continue to arrive at my doorstep. The most recent bundle includes three amazing video game-themed soaps (an Xbox controller, a PlayStation controller, and an SNES controller). A big thank you to Digitalsoaps for such an awesome prize! As this particular package was intended to be given away for the charity effort, it still will be, just a little bit differently. If you previously donated to The Fundfax Fairraiser, simply leave a comment on this article in order to be entered into this particular giveaway. You may leave more than one comment, but only the first one will be counted as your official entry. Please note entries will be checked for eligibility so while you may comment if you didn’t donate, only those who did donate will actually be eligible. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm PST on Saturday, July 18th with the winner (who will be selected using a random integer generator) being notified by email shortly thereafter. Remember to enter valid contact information when making your comment. Otherwise, go check up on Marissa and good luck!

The following are the winning numbers, selected using Random.org during a live drawing via MSN Messenger, for The Fundfax Fairraiser. All winners have been notified by email. Thank you to those who donated, and also to the sponsors, for making this charity event a success! We raised over $6,500 for Marissa, her family, and the general act of raising awareness of Infantile Spasms. I am speechless from the community’s overwhelming amount of generosity and support. It is appreciated, more than you know.

The Bungie Bundle #1
(generously donated by Bungie)
Autographed Kotobukiya Steel Spartan 12” Figure
[image #1] [image #2] [image#3]

The Behemoth Bundle #1
(generously donated by The Behemoth)
Handmade (Super Limited Edition) Crocheted Castle Crashers Orange Knight Hat, PirateNinja Tee in Medium, Castle Crashers King Pack DLC Code, Castle Crashers Buttons

The Behemoth Bundle #2
(generously donated by The Behemoth)
Blue Knight Figurine (signed and drawn on by lead artist Dan Paladin), Behemoth Polo in Large, Castle Crashers King Pack DLC Code, Castle Crashers Buttons

Autographed Maw Poster (3 copies total)
(generously donated by Twisted Pixel Games)
Autographed Maw Poster (one winner will also get a Maw Tee in XL)

The “You’ve Only Played Halo 3?!” Bundle
(generously donated by Captain Spark)
Halo®: Combat Evolved (PC), Halo®: Combat Evolved (Xbox)

The Halo Bundle #2
(generously donated by SpaceGhost2K)
Custom Anime Cortana Xbox 360 Faceplate, Plasma Grenade

The Hudson PSP Bundle
(generously donated by Hudson Entertainment)
Bomberman Land (Sony PSP), Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts (Sony PSP)

E305 Rings of Light Xbox 360 Faceplate
(generously donated by SpaceGhost2K)
Sealed E305 Rings of Light Xbox 360 Faceplate (numbered and brand new)

The Crafty Super Mario Bundle
(generously donated by Lost Mitten and The Clay Collection)
Set of 4 Bead Mario and Luigi Coasters, Super Mario Buttons, Mushroom Earrings

Fairfax (3 bunnies total)
(generously donated by Marissa’s Dad)
Win your very own Fairfax! Lots of love required.

The RPG Bundle
(generously donated by SkelBrute)
Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360), Blue Dragon Plus (Nintendo DS)

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai (3 copies total)
(generously donated by Ska Studios)
The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai (XBLA)

The Bungie Bundle #2
(generously donated by Bungie)
Autographed Halo 3 Limited Release Embossed Launch Poster

The Halo 3 Bundle
(generously donated by mendicantbias00, Louis Wu, and The Clay Collection)
Halo 3 MC Action Figure, Autographed Halo Prints, Halo 3 Cufflinks

The Halo 3 Bundle #3
(generously donated by BTSculptor, Louis Wu, and SpaceGhost2K)
Halo 3 MC Active Camo Action Figure, Halo Prints (one autographed, one not), Plasma Grenade

The Hudson Wii Bundle
(generously donated by Hudson Entertainment)
Deca Sports (Nintendo Wii), Fishing Master World Tour (Nintendo Wii), Bomberman Land (Nintendo Wii)

The Green Bundle
(generously donated by The Clay Collection)
Yoshi Necklace, Green Shell Earrings

The PopCap Bundle #1
(generously donated by PopCap)
Bejeweled Twist (PC), Bookworm Adventures (PC), PopCap Bag, Peggle Tee in Medium, Peggle Plushie, Bumper Sticker and more!

The PopCap Bundle #2
(generously donated by PopCap)
Peggle Nights (PC), The Wizard’s Pen (PC), PopCap Bag, Peggle Tee in Large, Peggle Plushie, Bumper Sticker and more!

A Guest Appearance in Chronicles of ODS Steve
(generously donated by DeepCee)
Star in an upcoming episode of ODS Steve!

Poker Smash (10 copies total)
(generously donated by Void Star Creations)
Poker Smash (XBLA)

The Harmonix Bundle
(generously donated by Harmonix)
Rock Band 2, Complete Bundle (Xbox 360)

The EA Bundle (4 copies total)
(generously donated by EA)
Autographed Copy of The Godfather II (PC)

The EA Sports Bundle #1
(generously donated by EA Sports)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 Nike Golf Shirt, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 (Nintendo Wii), NCAA Football 10 Xbox 360 Faceplate

The EA Sports Bundle #2
(generously donated by EA Sports)
Madden NFL 10 Under Armour Bowling Shirt, Grand Slam Tennis (Nintendo Wii), NCAA Football 10 Xbox 360 Faceplate

Halo 3 Art
(generously donated by Jim 028 and rowboat 000)
Halo 3 16 x 9 in. Framed Canvas Print

The Hudson Nintendo DS Bundle
(generously donated by Hudson Entertainment)
Bomberman Land Touch! 2 (Nintendo DS), Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts (Nintendo DS)

The Sega Dreamcast Jewelry Bundle
(generously donated by The Clay Collection)
Sega Dreamcast Controller Earrings, Sega Dreamcast Controller Cufflinks

The NinjaBee Bundle
(generously donated by NinjaBee)
Cloning Clyde (XBLA), Band of Bugs (XBLA), Outpost Kaloki (XBLA), A Kingdom for Keflings (XBLA)

Plants vs. Zombies (10 copies total)
(generously donated by PopCap)
Plants vs. Zombies (PC)

A very special thank you to our amazingly generous sponsors!

The drawing for the Fundfax Fairraiser prizes will be held tonight (Sunday, July 12th) at 6 pm PST (7 MST, 8 CST, 9 EST) on MSN Messenger. I had initially planned on doing it via a live video stream but due to a mixture of real life and time constraints, this is the next best thing. Numbers will be selected by a random integer generator, announced in the chatroom, then screencapped and posted on the blog. My MSN Messenger contact email is hawtymcbloggy [at] hotmail [dot] com (please note that is not my actual email address and is only used for messenger purposes) so if you would like to attend the live drawing, please add me and then send me a message via that service requesting an invite into the room. To quote Sailor Harry, good luck to everybody!

*Results are not final until posted on the blog.