The Fearless Blogger

If you believe in Flashbacks, or don’t mind being quasi-retro this Halloween, this is the costume for you!

Of course, you’ll either need a sweetheart to join you or a good friend – this Oceanic Flight 815 costume is designed for two.

(Please note: The Fearless Blogger is currently patting herself on the back for resisting urges to make any “cockpit”, “rear”,  ”tail end”, or “Sawyer coming onboard” innuendos)

I just saw this ad on Craigslist and thought it was too good not to share (although not quite good enough for me to get off my lazy butt and make my way to National City!):

This costume is made out of paper mache, chicken wire, and paint. I spent a reasonable amount of time on it for a series finale party and don’t want to just throw it away. I will if no one takes it, though. It comes in two pieces, the front and tail section. The wings detach for travel. There is a hole for your face in the front section. Take a look.

Look at me! I'm flying!

Oh noes! We're gonna crash!

If you end up grabbing it, PLEASE send me a picture of  you (and yours) in costume for me to share here!

(If the original ad is no longer available, you can view a copy here)

If you live in SoCal and are without Halloween plans  (and with a disposable income) look no further – I have the scoop for you (thanks to YouTheDesigner.com)!

The Skinny

Silverlake Conservatory of Music announces its fifth annual “Hullabaloo” fundraiser will be held on Halloween, Saturday, October 31. Ben Harper will perform. The event, dubbed the “Halloweenabaloo,” will take place at LA’s historic Union Station. Doors open at 6 PM for a special “Kids Hour” of music, trick-or-treating and Halloween celebration. At 7 PM, the first of the evening’s musical performances will begin, continuing throughout the evening.

Music, Halloween excitement and performances from SCM co-founders Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and “Tree,” a/k/a SCM Dean Keith Barry along with special musical guests Ben Harper, Linda Perry and others will highlight the Hullabaloo festivities including costumes, masks, observation of “El día de los muertos” traditions plus food and family fun.

The Cause (Silverlake Conservatory of Music)

Reacting to the disappearance of music education in the curriculum of many public schools, Flea and Tree (Keith Barry) founded the non-profit conservatory to provide a place where young people in their community could learn and enjoy music. The school’s website states, “The mission of the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit organization, is to facilitate basic music education. Our primary focus is on the youth of the community but all are welcome and encouraged to participate. The Conservatory offers private music lessons at a reasonable cost and grants scholarships to children in need, providing free lessons and instruments. The study of music enriches the life of the student as well as the community and society.” Nine years after opening, the school serves about 600 students (about a quarter who are on scholarship). Students enjoy access to private lessons, instruments, summer camps and group ensembles.

More details, including how to get your hand on some tickets, are posted here (by YouTheDesigner.com)
And if you act quickly, you may still have time to enter to WIN a pair of tickets to the event!*

*Disclosure: I’ve entered the contest and plan on winning it. :-) So enter at your own risk- set your expectations accordingly!

Today I discovered what just may be my favorite e-cards ever!

As I was nosing around the CDC website, perusing the latest H1N1 information (isn’t that how everyone spends their evening downtime?) I noticed they’ve included an H1N1 social media page.

Awesome sauce! Not sure if you know this about me but:

PANDEMIC + CDC INFO + SOCIAL MEDIA(!) =
IRRESISTIBLE TO FARYL

I happily clicked away.

That’s when I noticed this section:

Send Friends & Loved Ones Swine Flu Wishes!

No Way! Excellent!

I’m not sure what I was expecting to see, but the CDC didn’t let me down.  Caring friends and family can select from a variety of “occasions” ranging from Autumn to College Health to Disabilities to Halloween to Salmonella to STDs and more.  They even have “Congratulations on Your New Pet” and Valentine’s Day cards!

This is a small sample of the selection the Flu category has to offer:

Just a Sampling of Occasions You Can Choose From

My particular favorite is the Father’s Day card:

You can't make this stuff up.

Not impressed?  Just wait – there are animated cards as well.

How many times has this happened to you? Your best friend is getting married tomorrow. Here you are, a bridesmaid, and what with sharing all the joy and festivities and excitement – you forgot to buy a card.

I’ve totally been there.

Well, fear not, my friend – the CDC to the rescue!!

This Wedding Card even features a soundtrack (one that bears a bit of a resemblance to the Tonight Show theme)!

What Bride Wouldn't be Overjoyed to Receive This?

There are too many options to post screen shots of them all here.

Some of my other favorites:

• Wishing You a Seizure-Free Day
• I Got Tested – Did You?
• Here’s to an Alcohol-Free Pregnancy!

The list goes on and on . . . You’ll just have to visit the site yourself so you can choose the one that’s the perfect fit for your special day.

Feeling down because no one’s ever sent a CDC card to you?

Well turn that frown upside down!  Because I care!

That’s right! I created a card just for you!
View it here!

The Kodak Gallery Thanks Man

Kodak is celebrating the launch of their new Kodak Gallery with a “Million Thanks Giveaway”!

Click the link below to receive either a:

• $15 gift code to use on the site or
• 40% gift code

This is a limited time/while supplies last offer – so don’t wait!

Kodak Gallerys Million Thanks Giveaway.

(I found this link via the Ellen show website – so not only will you receive a freebie, you’ll be registered to win a trip for two to watch a taping of the Ellen show.  If you need someone to bring with you, I live in the area!!)

from Crestock.com

As a blogger, I’m always happy to find new resources for free/royalty free images. I thought I’d pass this info along to those of you who feel the same:

Crestock.com has released a new WordPress plugin called Freebie Images:

Spice up your blog with professional, high quality, free stock photos & images! With an amazingly simple Drag and Drop interface, blogging has never been this easy!

(The following information is from the Crestock.com blog)

What is it and what does it do?
The Freebie Images Plugin gives you a micro format search interface inside your WordPress Admin where you can search for and add images to your blog post – free of charge. The images are perfectly sized for blogs – between 300px and 400px width.

How does it work?
The plugin uses Crestocks existing search algorithm, so the search results – and images – are the same as on Crestock.com.After doing an image search, youre presented with the search results.

Adding the images to your post couldnt become much easier – when youve found the image you want, simply drag & drop it into your blog post, in the position where you want the image, and thats it.

You also get access to most of the advanced filtering options on Crestock.com with a single click, for example:

• Number of images per page
• Image Orientation
• File type
• Pagination

Where can I get it?
The plugin can be downloaded from Freebie Images.com – the Plugin home page.

Please Note
I should caution you that Crestock.com is describing this as a “public beta”. In other words, don’t expect perfection (or in other other words – use at your own risk!). From a quick glance at Crestock.com’s blog post, it looks like people have reported some bugs  (it wasn’t clear if they were issues with the plugin or from lack of documentation for proper installation).

I’ve not yet had a chance to give the plugin a try, but will report back once I do.  In the meantime, feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.

For More Details
Launching Freebie Images WordPress Plugin | Crestock.com Blog.