Please Help Me
I am really having a hard time picking a winner for the “Win a copy for Christmas” portion of the Desert Spear Arc Contest. The submissions this week have been amazing, and they keep coming in. Just minutes after I posted the last update, this entry came in from Elisa in Vienna:
Basically it’s me and around me my friends, members of the Austrian Tolkien Society and the girls from the office I work at. I gave every one of them my copy of your book to make the pictures, some of them taken at the christmas market while it was snowing, some of them at the office, some at the cinema right before we went to see “Avatar” (amazing by the way, especially in IMAX 3D!).
The Austrian Tolkien Society is mugging for the camera with my book. Life is bizarre some days.
There have been so many great entries this week that I’ve made a few decisions about the contest:
- I will add a few more prizes. So far I just have the three US Desert Spear ARCs to give away, but hopefully I will soon score some UK ones, as well. Even if I can’t, contest runners-up will get signed books or other assorted warded goodies.
- I think it goes without saying, but to be clear, photos entered this week, even if they don’t win the Christmas book, will still be eligible to win prizes later.
- I need help picking a winner tomorrow.
So. Be honest. Out of all the entries you’ve seen this week, other than one you yourself submitted, which is your favorite single image, and why? Please answer in the comments thread of this entry.
To be clear, I will still personally decide the final winner, but at the moment, I honestly don’t know who I am going to pick. Shit, I can’t even settle on my top 5. If you think you can sway me with a persuasive argument (or a landslide of votes), I welcome the discussion.
Thanks!
The Loincloth Arlen. It is HILARIOUS. At Matt said, it wins are life.
My second runner up is the guy running away from the t-rex because it is also super funny and has a thrill aspect.
Ooh and you could throw them on facebook group and judge by the number of “likes” they each get.
Karen the hiker from Rhode Island did the immersive PM experience. All that was lacking was camping overnight in a ward circle.
Lo, done and done.
I’m feelin the T-Rex guy. He was pretty funny.
But for the sheer beauty and obvious insistence on taking a book with him wherever he goes, my runner up is the guy sitting cross-legged on the top of a beautiful mountain. He gets brownie points for sitting on sharp rocks instead of the grass quite near to him.
I say the MIT guy. You said he had to risk life and limb and by the looks of it that means sneaking onto a roof to get a good shot with the dome. Plus that dome has an awesome history.
I say the guy from MIT. For one thing, he goes to MIT props for that. The pictures are really awesome too. He’s got my vote!
MIT kid. Why? It’s hilarious, and ya know, MIT’s a pretty cool place.
That guy from MIT had a sweet pic by their dome. Did you know they put a car up there!!!!
T-rex guy.
wow MIT rocks we have a future janitor in our midst here guys.
Eh, that MIT guy is pretty cool. Taking pictures next to the big copper guy and doesn’t afraid of anything. I like him
MIT dude is awesome! he deserves the book
Wow, the MIT guy is a pro at life.
The one with the T-Rex (funny!) or the one with the beautiful landscape shoots (Newsealand – or sth like this – it was, right?
I’d suggest to pic a “original” one as in “un-photoshoped” (some of the photoshoped ones are really original and I like them but the task was to take a picture with yourself & the book whereever you think it looks right/is original/funny etc. and not photoshopping yourself with the book into some situation/place/wahtever).
the MIT kid cause he got a pretty sweet pic w/ the dome
The guy from MIT is badass
For the win, that guy is on the roof of MIT. How did he even get up there and manage to take a picture without being caught.
…Uh is it legal to recruit your friends to vote for you? Hahaha!
I like Iris’ picture on the steps by her bookshelves. Mostly because I wish I had space for them in my house but also because the picture was very christmassy.
(looks sad) I only photoshoped myself with the book because It was raining.
I put a lot of work into them and I thought people would like them. 🙁
(@ Kathy)
But I like the pics Iris has sent in because she has some awesome ones 🙂
Feeling bad now. Gonna go eat some VEGEMITE HA!
As much as the vote seems to be going MIT guys way (friends indeed 😉 I like the one of Jess hiding in the closet with the huge eyes.
(and mine of course, but I can’t vote for mine)
The Kiwi guy in the Rimutaka’s. That’s one badass walk bro, ive done it!
It feels like your literally standing on the top of the world in complete solitude. Not a bad place to read a book aye.
I like mine (Dylan) the best… but If I had to pick a #2…
So
#1 vote Dylan at camp
#2 French Jess
I do like some of the photoshopped pictures but I agree with the others and believe it is sort of cheating.
Holding within the contest rules, I agree with Matt and vote for Karen from RI who hiked 5 miles listening to the Warded Man and stood on all three states while reading the book. That was really cool! She gets my vote.
Thank you so much Marc and Brendon, I never thought someone would vote for me! I could only take this pic for now because I’m alone at the time and wait to go back to Paris and my friends and family to take proper pictures 🙂
I voted on Facebook for AJ the T-Rex guy because I tought it’s original and funny, and I’m a big fan of Jurassic Park 🙂
You’re so doomed 😀
I personally liked the photos from Brandon from New Zealand. The atmosphere wa sjust great and the pictures are pretty cool. And walking with such a heavy book is wuit dificult 😉
Most of the pics are awesome! It’s very difficult to choose one (I unserstand you, Peat)
I love Jess hiding in her closet, it was a very good idea
and I also love the view of Brandon’s, New Zealand is so, so beautiful (one of my dreams is to go there, the atmosphere seems so wonderful…)
Sorry I vote for 2, but… voilà!
Aww, @Emily don’t feel bad! I’m sure you’ve put a lot of work in those photoshoped ones and I like them, too <3
I'm sure Peat will take everything in consideration and in the end will make some good-weighted decisions 🙂 (as far as I got to know him by reading his posts here and at facebook I think he'd love to give everyone a copy if he could ;))
It’s true. It’s just as well I only have a couple of copies to give away, because otherwise I would send copies to everyone and my baby daughter would have to get a job at a textile factory to help make ends meet.
I vote for Lizette at the mosque……because…well…c’mon, none of you would have had the guts to do that! hehehehe. 🙂
I figure Lizette’s Disneyland photos may not be up (hopefully they count!?), so I may be the only one voting for those. She surprised me… braving the holiday Disneyland crowds for her photos. She even waited in line for the Matterhorn and held up her copy of “The Warded Man” during the ride, all the while waiting for the official ride camera to snap her photo. If only she had told me what she had intended.. I could have told her that the Matterhorn doesn’t have cameras.
ps — her sole reason for going to Disneyland was for the contest. She went alone — if you look closely, she’s missing Droids A and Z (the 2- and the 4-year olds, respectively).
Otherwise, I agree with everyone above. The photos are all greatl. I didn’t even think about computer graphics or photoshopping images; that is some pretty cool art.
I reckon @Emilys because her photoshopping is awesome….not because shes my twin….how is photoshopping cheating? PLUS we went to eastern beach and I had to keep taking photos of her with stuff with the book in front of people, they probably thought we were tourists!
so yeah! peoplebaggingoutphotoshop *crosses arms and glares*