The Smarmy Carny

Thanks again to all those who read my posts as I participated in Blogathon 2007, posting 49 posts in just 24 hours. Sponsorships are now closed, and I received 10 pledges for $135.00! The money I raised this year will be going to One Economy Corporation. (In 2006 I received 8 pledges for $141.00 to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation of America.)

Here's a little peek at the spike in blog traffic for the two weeks leading up to and through the Blogathon weekend:

How does this compare with last year? Things weren't too much different in terms of visits, but I had 17.7% more visits than last year. There are other stats that are more favorable for 2006, but I don't want to bother with those.

In case you were wondering, these pretty graphs both came from Google Analytics.

Final Blogathon totals: 10 pledges for $135.00

Blogathon may have ended, but you can still pledge!

Please, check out the Blogathon 2007 category of this site, which lists all the posts I wrote during the Blogathon this year. A list of my posts will also be available on my Blogathon page.

To sponsor me, head over to my Blogathon page and follow the directions there.

I won a trivia contest and garnered another sponsorship!

End of Blogathon totals: 9 pledges for $123.00

Blogathon has ended . . . but sponsorships will be open for at least until Tuesday morning. So please, if you can, please sponsor me and pledge to donate money to One Economy Corporation. If you need more information, read my Blogathon page, which should explain everything for you.

Thanks to everyone who has been visiting this blog during the event and keeping me motivated! I look forward to hearing from you all even now that Blogathon is over. The Smarmy Carny will always be right here!

After I've gotten a healthy amount of sleep and spent enough time away from computers, I'll return to give some sort of a post-Blogathon update.

End of Blogathon totals: 8 pledges for $120.00

Fin.

Just 30 minutes left of the 24-hour Blogathon event! The world outside is waking up again, and I'm getting ready to crash land into my bed. I did this last year, and I thought it was a fun idea, so I will impart with you fifteen things I learned over the last 24 hours.

What has Blogathon 2007 taught me?

1. An obvious winner is spelled "shoo-in", not "shoe-in". Go figure.
2. Believe it or not, people will voluntarily play Wesley Willis music if you ask them to.
3. Cats may meow, but falcons chant.
4. Domo-Kun lives in the wild.
5. During the 23rd hour, don't fully recline your chair and close your eyes and expect that good things will result.
6. Even with no sleep for over 18 hours, I still can't understand that dancing kittycat video.
7. In the original script of The Smurfs, Gargamel captured a smurf wandering alone in the forest and (using "magic clay") he transformed the male smurf into Smurfette.
8. I've been collecting a personal diary without even knowing it.
9. John O'Hurley, who played J. Peterman in Seinfeld, later helped the real J. Peterman to purchase the "J. Peterman" brand back from a company he had sold it to.
10. LOLCATS are evil!!!
11. Luka's webcam can't see the pool in the day and it can't see the moon in the night.
12. Marbles, though fun, can be excruciatingly annoying.
13. Somehow, Professor X is closely related to Blogathon.
14. Technology can make or break some low-income families.

I hope you learned something as well!

With the Simpsons Movie out now, I might as well toss in something movie-related. Here are a small assortment of some minor characters from The Simpsons:

• Barney Gumble: B Barney is the town drunk who makes Homer look sober. He has a good line now and then but rarely carries a scene. Favorite line: "Aaah! Natural light! Get it off me! Get it off me!"
• Comic Book Guy: C+ Jeff Albertson is the owner of The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop. His character is intentionally annoying, but often not to a comic effect. Favorite line: "Worst episode ever."
• Disco Stu: C It's always fun to see Disco Stu enter the frame, but in comparison to the other characters on the show, Disco Stu just doesn't shine through. Favorite line: "Disco Stu loves disco music!"
• Dr. Nick Riviera: B+ The graduate of Hollywood Upstairs Medical College always makes me laugh. Favorite line: "Hi, everybody!"
• Nelson Muntz: A- Ha ha! Need I say more? Nelson needn't, that's for sure.
• Ralph Wiggum: A Everyone embraces the lovable dumb kid. Until he turns into a prepubescent. Ralph is lucky that time stands still in the Simpsons universe. Favorite line: "Me fail English? That's unpossible!"

Please feel free to leave a comment. What do you agree or disagree with, and why? Which items do you wish were included that I didn't cover here?

There's another game up on the official Blogathon site: "Are you gonna do this again next year? Yes/no why?"

Right about now, I think I will probably participate in Blogathon 2008 if everything works out well because I want to take a day to help support a charity. But then, last year, I gave a couple great reasons why I wasn't going to participate in Blogathon 2007, and look where that got me.

Obviously, it wasn't a decision I could make with 0 sleep in over 24 hours — it's like asking a woman in childbirth if she'd like to have another baby. Except less messy and with more yawning.

I got the chance to participate in the "Better Know a Blogger" series for the official Blogathon site.

Please, take a few short minutes to listen in on the Better Know a Blogger — Novac! interview. I shed a bit of light on my Blogathon history and the charity I've chosen for this year. You'll also find out about what I've done to keep awake during the Blogathon. Also included is a piece of information that may save your life some day!