The entry below is classified as a LEGACY post, meaning that it was written (well) before the current version of Avalonstar was released. Although these posts have survived the numerous moves over years, there is no guarantee that they've survived the trip unscathed (especially the links).

LEGACY–

August 10, 2005

Avalonstar's 5th Birthday Bash

Give me a minute while I take a look back — okay, I'm ready.

Today marks the final day of my stay here in Southern California as I will make my way up to my new life in Silicon Valley tomorrow morning. I have to say with the launch of Avalonstar, you guys have really kept me busy over the past month. As the fruit salad starts month 2, you can be sure that there's a lot I still have in store for you.

Five years ago, on September 28th, 2000, I bought Avalonstar with hopes of it being a site where I could always speak my mind and treat others like human beings (which was actually my slogan back in 2001). As I moved away from art, my focus settled on bringing people together, provoking thought and having a good laugh. Five years later, although it has felt like 50, I'm still focused on that mission. I'm proud to say that throughout its time Avalonstar has been a great part of my life, both personally and professionally. I've met so many people, in person and online. I've made best friends, and I even found my future life partner. Avalonstar has given me as much as I have given it, and now I want to give back to those who have supported me over the past five years.

Now let's get down to business.

The Game: T-Shirt Contest of Doom
The Theme: Avalonstar (The past, present and future.)
The Due Date: September 21th, 2005
The Prize(s): (choose one)

"I dream of 1000 songs in my pocket." (an iPod Nano)
"I dream of music." (a 20GB iPod or $300 to the iTunes music store)
"I dream of anime." ($300 towards anything at Animenation.com)
"I dream of SixApart." (a Movable Type License or a lifetime LiveJournal account)
"I dream of AJAX." (Blinksale, Backpack and Basecamp)
"I dream of code." (Macromedia Studio 8, the Educational Version)
"I dream of pictures." (Flickr Pro for as long as $300 buys you or a "digital camera")
"I dream of games." (a Sony PSP Bundle or $300 of console stuff you love)
"I dream of clothes." (a $300 Threadless Gift Certificate)
"I dream of stuff." (a $300 Amazon Gift Certificate)
"I dream of being a geek." ($300 to spend at ThinkGeek, you geek.)
"I dream of sleep." (The BodyPillow and Extra-Thick Neck Pillow by Tempur-Pedic)
"I dream of personalization." (Really wow me and you'll find out.)
"Bryan dreams of sponsors." (Anything that anybody would want to donate.)

Now let me pick your mouth up off the floor and talk about the contest. Yes, it's a t-shirt contest, because for so long a few friends have wanted Avalonstar stuff, and the forgetful person that I am could never remember to make them.

Designing the Shirt

I'm challenging you to make your "dream of Avalonstar", using whatever I give you (and whatever you seem to make up.) I was going to come up with a more specific theme, but then I thought, "these guys are going to have to work for this." So the lid is open on ideas, but please have common sense. Since I want to have the winner's shirt printed, please keep the designs to 4 colors. Colors of the actual shirts can be found here. If you're designing for both men and women, make sure you find a common color. Double sided shirts are okay as well. If you want to include the phoenix or the shield as part of your design, I have provided them for you. For the template, you can use the infamous Threadless template (Keep in mind the colors have to be from the American Apparel links). Two places to start for ideas are the Wayback Machine (try avalonstar.com and .net) and Google. Oh yeah, you can submit as many designs as you want!

The Low-Down

Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, September 21st at 11:59PM Pacific Daylight Time. If you can't make that deadline than I fear for your educational career. The winner will be announced the morning of Avalonstar's 5th birthday, Wednesday, September 28th, 2005 and will be able to choose from only one of the "dream" prizes above along with their winning t-shirt, signed. Honorable mentions will be sent some cool swag and other little bits. Prizes are subject to change without notice. If you have any questions, please email me using the contact form. When you're done with your masterpiece, email it to contest(at)avalonstar.com.

And lastly, have fun and SPREAD THE WORD!