LEGO: The Movie Contest

LEGO: The Movie Vehicle Design Contest

Imagine you're playing with your LEGOs, and you build this crazy awesome thing, and you're like, "Whoa, this thing is so crazy awesome it should be in a movie!" And then the directors of LEGO: The Movie come and take your crazy awesome LEGO thing and actually put it in their movie! Like, actually in the movie in the movie theater on the giant screen for the whole world to see! Just imagine that for a second. Pretty sweet.

Now, go build your crazy awesome LEGO thing because that dream could be possible if you enter the LEGO Vehicle Design Contest. There are some rules of course. Be sure to watch the video with the directors telling you what kind of crazy awesome LEGO thing they want. "The crazier the better!"

The deadline is December 1, so get started now! What are YOU going to build? Leave a Comment with your crazy awesome LEGO ideas.

Writing Prompt: Mythical Creature

Writing Prompt: Mythical Creature

Would you like to be an angel . . . or an alien . . . or a vampire? How about a unicorn . . . or a mermaid . . . or a basilisk (like the deadly snake in Harry Potter)?

Welcome to the world of mythical creatures! Webster’s Dictionary defines a mythical creature as “a monster renowned in folklore and myth.” Many mythical creatures have supernatural powers, some good and some evil. In literature, they range from the Greek and Roman gods, to creatures in fairy tales, to Edward from Twilight (for ages 12 and up)!

Well, today’s Write On Writing Prompt comes to us from Shadow Princess who has been thinking about mythical creatures herself.

What kind of mythical creature would you be?

I would be a fairy! What about you guys? What mythical creature would YOU be? Let us know in the Comments below. Let’s see how many crazy answers we can get!

— Ratha, Stacks Writer

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What are you thankful for in 2012?

Leave a Comment, and have a wonderful day!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Thanksgiving Would You Rather?

Thanksgiving Would You Rather?

Gobble Gobble, Splotters! With Turkey Day right around the corner, we cooked up some delicious Thanksgiving Would You Rather with a question based on STACKS Staffer, Sonja's own personal experience. (Her sister makes a sweet potato dish with pineapple and marshmallows!!) 

Would you rather . . .

1. Eat sweet potato casserole with pineapple and marshmallows OR eat roasted crickets? (Sonja would actually rather eat crickets!)
2. Eat Thanksgiving dinner in your underwear OR wearing a giant rubber turkey on your head?
3. Jump into a pool of cold cranberry sauce OR warm gravy?
4. Watch football OR go shopping?
5. Eat burnt pumpkin pie OR delicious stuffing that might have a few dead bugs in it? 
6. Be a turkey on Thanksgiving Day OR a pumpkin about to get carved for Halloween?
7. From eating too much, spit up turkey OR spit up creamed spinach?
8. Be on your best behavior at the grown-ups' table OR eat at the kids' table and get peas thrown at you by your 3-year-old cousin?
9. For vegetarians: eat Tofurkey OR skip the turkey altogether and just eat all the yummy veggie side dishes?
10. If you could only choose one dessert, would it be apple pie OR pecan pie?

I’ll leave you with the famous song (sung to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Clementine") . . .

Mr. Turkey, Mr. Turkey
Did you ever wonder why
People eat you on Thanksgiving
Instead of chicken pot pie?

Leave your answers in the Comments below! Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

—Ratha, Stacks Writer

Name Your PC Day

Name Your PC Day

What falls on November 20th this year? You'll never guess. Nestled right in between November 19th (President James Garfield's birthday) and November 21st (the date North Carolina made statehood) is . . . Name Your PC Day!

Do you already have a name for your computer? If not, November 20th is the day to create one! To get in the spirit, here are some possible ideas to name your computer.  

• Big Mac (if you have a mac!)
• A pet love-y name like Pumpkin, Cream Puff, Mr. Cutie-Patootie
• Harry, Liam, Niall . . . you get the idea!
• Something really smart like Einstein, Madame Curie, Da Vinci
• Old Faithful
• Typee (due to its obvious skill)

So run the data, and leave YOUR name for your computer in the Comments below. I can't wait to hear these ones!!

—Ratha, Stacks Writer

You Know You're a Directioner When . . .

You know you're a Directioner when . . .

Have you heard the new One Direction album Take Me Home which was released on November 13th? You know you're a Directioner when you can say the exact date and time you first heard the new album! Here are some other signs of the One Direction Infection.

Save the Planet

Save the Planet!

Help AquaPenguin126 get 100 ways to save the earth! Add your ideas to the list on the Save the Planet Message Board.

Create a Caption: Puppy Eyes

The most innocent-looking people are usually the biggest troublemakers, and I think the same rule applies to puppies. This photo brings a whole new meaning to the expression "puppy eyes." How can you resist a face like that? I sure couldn’t.

What caption would you give this photo? Mine would look something like this:

“Hey, dad. I know I accidentally drove your new car into the swimming pool, and I’m really sorry about that . . . but I was hoping I could have $20 to get this new T-shirt I saw at the mall today?”

 What do YOU think? Irresistable, right? Share your caption in the Comments!

— En-Szu, STACKS Intern (a.k.a. MidnightMagic5)

Hunger Writing Prompt

Hunger Writing Prompt

Thanksgiving is a few short weeks away. It's a time to think about how lucky we are if we have good food to eat every day. Not everyone has that, so remember to be grateful and share what you have! 

Today's Write On Writing Prompt is about food, and it comes to us from AutoreDiEssere who asks:

What is the color of hunger?

For me hunger has different colors. . . 

• Pink = Mildly hungry. You could eat a piece of fruit and be fine.
• Green = Randomly snacking on everything you see because you haven't eaten lunch since 11:15am due to an early lunch period.
• Orange = Eating like a cave animal out the refrigerator as soon as you get home because you forgot your lunch and all you had were Jolly Ranchers since breakfast.
• Black = Seriously, severely hungry. 

What color do you think hunger would be (if it could be a color)? Let AutoreDiEssere know in the Comments below!

—Ratha, Stacks Writer

Spooky Halloween Would You Rather

Spooky Halloween Would You Rather?

So you have your costume ready to go, your jack-o-lantern carved, and your nails painted orange and black. But in the spirit of Halloween, have you ever considered the following? Take a "stab" at our Halloween Would You Rather!

Would you rather . . .

1. Be bitten by a vampire OR a werewolf?
2. Have a bloody cut OR a broken bone?
3. Eat hair soup OR slimy booger cupcakes?
4. Have dinner with Frankenstein's monster OR Count Dracula?
5. Have to trick-or-treat forever (remember that Goosebumps one?) OR be trapped in a haunted house forever?
6. Get lots of candy OR lots of money?
7. Have a black cat cross your path OR be cursed by a voodoo doctor?
8. Wear a cute Elmo costume OR a scary grim reaper costume?
9. Be chased by a zombie OR be chased by an evil scarecrow?
10. While trick-or-treating, get only candy corn and Smarties OR only raisins and Dots?

And here are some MORE Halloween Would You Rather questions brought to you by AquaCat586!

Would you rather...

1. Dress up as a mummy OR a monster?
2. Eat a Snickers OR a Twix?
3. Stand in the window of Macy's and dress up as the Mona Lisa OR Barbie in a bikini?
4. Eat eyeball punch OR bat wing pizza?
5. Go to a house with spooky deco OR a house with more mild deco? At 7:00pm OR at 9:00pm?
6. Go to a house where they've gone but left a bowl of candy, saying that you can take 2, OR go to a house where they're not gone?
7. Read a spooky story before OR after trick-or-treating?
8. Read a spooky story under the covers with a flashlight OR in your fave armchair with ALL the lights on?
9. Get 20 pieces of candy at 5 houses OR get 20 pieces of candy at 20 houses?
10. Dress up in a costume that's easy to walk in but doesn't look as nice as you would like OR dress up in something that looks PERFECT but is totally non-walk-in-able?

Awesome questions, AquaCat! So get your spook on, and leave your answers in the Comments below! Happy Halloween!

— Ratha, Stacks Writer

Writing Prompt: Jump Into a Story

Writing Prompt: Jump Into a Story

Today's Write On Writing Prompt is a good one for all you guys who have always wanted to jump into your favorite book and affect the story. It comes to us from Ley56 who asks:

If you had a chance to go into your favorite story as yourself, what would you do? 


I love it! I would go into The Diversion (Book #49 in the Animorphs series). I would kindly explain to Ax that saying out loud to the cash register guy that you’re a juvenile delinquent is not the smartest idea.  I wonder if Ax would take my advice . . .

Let us know what story you would jump into and what you would do. Big moment or small moment – it’s totally fun to imagine. Drop it down in the Comments below!

—Ratha, Stacks Writer

You Know It's Football Season When

You Know It's Football Season When. . .

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, there was one thing our Sundays revolved around: Steelers football. We'd go to an early church service, make sure the grocery shopping was done, and all our homework was completed. This left the rest of the day for our most important task on Sundays: rooting for the Steelers.

Not much has changed with my family in Pittsburgh, and I'll admit -- I still drop whatever I'm doing to catch the game (sorry Jets and Giants!) just like many of you guys all across the country. Whether you're a college ball fan, or NFL afficionado, you know it's football season when . . .

• Putting on your makeup means painting your face in team colors.
• You think the lunchroom should have stadium seating.
• You never leave home without shoulder pads.
• When you get a raise in your allowance, you try to body slam your parents and slap them on their butts.
• You break down play-by-play of a bug crawling across the floor.
• You don't feel silly wearing a big block of cheese on your head (Green Bay fans!).
• You ask your parents if you can tailgate before you do your homework.
• You feel the sudden urge to throw your mother's favorite vase across the room for a touchdown.
• When your teacher is done giving your class a classwork assignment, you yell, "Hut 1! Hut 2! Hike!"
• You don't even THINK about doing anything else when the big game is on. 

Do you guys go crazy for football season? What are the telltale signs for you that it's football season? Tell us in the Comments below. Until the next game day!

— Ratha, Stacks Writer