All stories about "Contests"

Back when we posted about the return of the Miss Brooklyn pageant we never could have predicted the affair would be one wrought with so much scandal. This year's winner, 22-year-old Leigh-Taylor Smith, crowned Miss Brooklyn after an "off-key rendition of 'Nobody Does It Like Me,'" is in fact . . . wait for it. . . a Manhattanite! And, according to The Brooklyn Paper, the pageant's committee knew all along. Their excuse? "We couldn't have a contest with only three girls." [via]

Friday's the deadline for Australia's Archibald Prize, a contest to determine the best portrait of the year. Though not a favorite, the submission by artist Tim Patch -- a.k.a. "Pricasso" -- has at least generated some buzz (or "excitement" perhaps). That's because Patch paints with his dick. He admits that he also uses his ass to paint backgrounds though, so please, don't typecast him as some kind of novelty act. Man's got range. [SMH]

Runt penguin chicks need not apply. After a 16-year absence, Brooklyn's own Miss Brooklyn pageant is back! (She's even got her own MySpace... but, unfortunately, not so many friends.) So what exactly does it take to be a modern-day Miss Brooklyn?

Through February 29, JetBlue Airways is hosting a brazen spam-collection promotional scheme wherein not only must you sign up to their TrueBlue rewards program, but you must also rat out the names and email addresses of seven other people in order to enter. A hundred winners will each get a free JetBlue flight as well as seven more free flights to dole out amongst whoever. Note that for tax purposes, each of those trips is calculated at $299. [JetBlue]

To provide fair and equal chance of winning to all Gawker Media readers, the following are the official rules for all contests on Gawker Media websites.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING.

All winners must be 21 years of age or older, unless otherwise stated and/or posted.

1. Corolla Dream Destinations

By entering Corolla Dream Destinations Contest (the "Contest"), you agree to the following rules. Submit your contest entry -- 250 words or less describing your ideal city vacation ("Entry(ies)") - to Gridskipper ("Sponsor") at contest@gridskipper.com by April 15th. Gridskipper staff will post entries that exhibit originality, creativity and alignment with the Gridskipper editorial sensibility during the submission period. All entries must comply with these official rules ("Official Rules"). Entries that do not, in Sponsor's sole discretion, comply with the Official Rules will not be eligible. Employees of Gawker Media, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and their respective related companies, dealers, employees and agents, advertising and promotional agencies, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited. By participating, entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to and accepts these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects.

Contest will run for approximately one month, beginning on April 2nd. Submission period will last until April 15th deadline. Winners will be notified via email on May 5th.

Readers will vote on contest entries by means of "friending" unique IDs associated with each post via the Gawker Media comment system. At the end of the submission period, the top five entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges, who will then choose a winner, based on originality, creativity and alignment with the Gridskipper editorial sensibility, of the grand prize ("Grand Prize"). The Grand Prize consists of (1) coach-class airfare for two from a major airport hub in the continental United States to any airport worldwide, with total airfare cost not to exceed $3,000; (2) four (4) nights of hotel accommodations, with total cost not to exceed $2,000; and (3) $500 cash. The four other finalists will each receive a $100 Travelocity Last Minute Gift Packages Certificate. Decisions and changes made by Gridskipper staff and panel judges regarding the contest and contest rules will be considered final. Standard contest rules apply.

Sponsor: Gawker Media, 76 Crosby St. New York, NY 10012.

2. Submission of Entries
Entries selected for display and to win "best of" contests and any other contests requiring photo, text or other content from the entrants will be judged entirely at the discretion of Sponsor, based on originality, creativity and alignment with the Gridskipper editorial sensibility.

By submitting any Entry to Sponsor, you hereby grant to Sponsor, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc., and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees, advertising and promotional agencies, and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of the submitted photo or other information in any and all media, whether now known or hereinafter created, throughout the world and for any purpose. In addition to other things, the rights granted to Sponsor includes but is not limited to the right to resize, crop, censor, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and to otherwise alter or make use of the submitted photo;

By submitting any Entry, you hereby represent and warrant that the submitted Entry, and any additional information you submit, including but not limited to photographs, does not and shall not infringe on any rights of third parties, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, or any rights of privacy or publicity of any person, and that you have the full right and authority to grant any and all rights and licenses granted to Sponsor herein, including but not limited to all necessary rights under copyright, free and clear of any claims or encumbrances;

You acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall have no obligation to post, display or otherwise make publicly available any Entry submitted by you, and may, in its sole and unfettered discretion, remove, edit, modify or delete any Entry that you submit to Sponsor;

You understand and intend that any Entry submitted by you to Sponsor may be available for viewing, rating, review and comment on by the public, and understand that comments or ratings with which you disagree or are unhappy about may be published or otherwise become associated with any photo or information you submit to Gawker Media. By submitting any photo or information to Sponsor, you hereby waive any privacy expectations that you may have with respect to any such Entry submitted by you to Sponsor.

You hereby agree to hold Gawker Media, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees sponsors, advertising and promotional agencies, and assigns harmless from and against, and hereby waive any right to pursue, any claims of any nature arising in connection with the inclusion in, publication via or display on any Gawker Media site, or any other use authorized under these Official Rules, of any Entry submitted to Sponsor by you;

Entries submitted by you shall be the property of Sponsor, and Sponsor shall have no obligation to preserve, return or otherwise make available to you or others any photos or information so submitted.

3. Awarding Prizes
Winners will be notified via email. Winners are solely responsible for all taxes and/or fees that may be incurred. All cash winners are required to verify proper and legal picture identification and Social Security number within 30 days of notification of winning the cash prize. Winner may forfeit any and all cash winnings if verification cannot or has not been made within 30 days. Upon proper verification, cash winnings will be awarded by check, and mailed to winner's mailing address within seven (7) business days.

Each prizewinner must supply Sponsor with his/her legal name, mailing address, birth date, daytime and nighttime telephone numbers. In the case of a cash winner, winner must also supply social security number.

Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees, and all such additional costs that may be incurred.

Neither Gawker Media, Gawker Media sponsors, employees of Gawker Media, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees sponsors, advertising and promotional agencies, or assigns may be held liable for any warranty, costs, damage, injury, or any other claims incurred as a result of usage of any winners of a prize once possession has been taken of the product by winner, and are not liable for any loss arising out of or in connection with or resulting from the Contest.

Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, substitute a prize, or part thereof, for another prize of like or equal value.

Publicity: Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes all entrants and winner's consent to Sponsor, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc., and their designated agents, use of winner's name, likeness, voice, opinions, biographical information, hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration.

General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify the Contest if fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor's reasonable control impairs the integrity of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In such event, Sponsor reserves the right to award the prizes at random from among the eligible Entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Limitations of Liability: Sponsor, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc., and their respective agents, directors, officers, shareholders, employees, insurers, servants, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, predecessors, successors, representatives, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors (collectively, the "Released Parties") are not responsible for: (i) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any computer, cable, network, hardware or software; (ii) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions or telephone or Internet service; (iii) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (iv) electronic or human error which may occur in the administration of the Sweepstakes or the processing of entries; (v) any injury or damage to persons or property, including but not limited to entrant's computer, hardware or software, which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant's participation in the Sweepstakes; or (vi) any printing or typographical errors in any Contest-related materials; stolen, lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries.

Gawker Media reserves the right to alter any rules of any contest at anytime. If you have any questions or complaints about a Gawker Media contest, please contact questions@gawker.com.

Winner's List: For a full list of winners contact advertising@gawker.com.

Even though it sounds like one of the more unlikely spots to hold such an event, the now snow-less Union Square plays host to the city's first ever pro-snowboarding competition. Union Square Street Sessions will take place at 3pm on February 8, and will feature over 24 men and 8 female boarders competing for the $30,000 purse. [NYC Agenda]

An entry from the "draw your own Eustace Tilley" contest commemorating the anniversary of the New Yorker magazine. I'm also partial to the jihadist. [via]

The lovely and seriously determined Ingrid Marie Rivera won the right to serve as Puerto Rico's Miss Universe contestant this weekend in San Juan, despite a bomb threat, the theft of her gowns, cosmetics, and credit cards, and the spiking of her remaining clothes and makeup with pepper spray. Rivera wore them anyway, even though she had to quickly strip backstage and apply ice packs to her face and body to lessen the resulting swelling and hives. [AP]

Yesterday Detroit was announced as this year's most dangerous city in America. It was a close contest between Motor City and the runner up and last year's winner, St. Louis, but in the end Detroit just had more homicides, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and auto thefts per capita than the other contenders. Detroit officials are criticizing the annual report instead of embracing the boost to their street cred, claiming the report is a misuse of crime stats. Yet the list will continue to make the news for years to come since we media folk love controversy, rankings, and catchy headlines. [via]

Our pals at Uwishunu, an arm of the Philly Marketing Corporation (and one of our proud sponsors), are holding a contest this month for the best "Illadate." In case you're having trouble untangling the term, "Illadate" is a cutesy way of combining "Philadelphia" and "Date," like Brangelina or Bennifer but with less tabloid cachet. It's also the name of the relatively unwatchable video podcasts which follow a local couple on Philly-centric dates. Paging "Benergy"!

Various of our sibling blogs are nominated in the 2007 Weblog Awards. No category for those of us in the travel ghetto, which is the entirety of the explanation for why we ourselves do not appear in the lists. Meanwhile, support our well-to do relations. Vote Gizmodo or Lifehacker over here, for Gawker over here, for Deadspin over here, and for Wonkette right over here. It's the last 24 hours of voting, so hie thee to the polls.

Taking a cue from the inflight lingerie shows in Ecuador, Virgin America has partnered with Victoria's Secret to host a "Supermodel PJ Party & PJ Fashion Show" on a JFK-LAX flight on November 28. Enter here through November 7 for a chance at tickets on the PJ plane, including a round trip back. Full disclosure: Virgin America has sponsored this site in the past, and they've also asked me to serve as a chaperone on the PJ plane. I will of course report back once I return, with photos and video. If you win tickets, you'll see me right there in Miranda Kerr's lap, doing journalism.

Victoria's Secret Supermodel PJ Party [Virgin America]

First we were nice, then we got desperate, and finally, there was a ray of hope. But too bad! Because it turns out we still need about 100 more responses to our dead simple four-question reader survey, which requires nothing more than a few easy clicks. Even a monkey could do it! If your household contains a monkey, please have said monkey complete the survey, and allow it to claim your salary for the household income question. Respondents will be eligible to win a randomly allocated $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com assuming you abide by our standard contest rules, and who wouldn't? The sooner you take the survey, the quicker these survey beg posts will be replaced by the high-quality original content you've come to expect.

You thought we were done? You thought last time was the last time? Think again! We still need more, more, more info from our swarming, heaving readership, and we're willing to pay (one of you) for the privilege. Just click four simple times on four simple multiple-choice questions on this reader survey, and you're eligible to win that tasty $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com (standard contest rules apply). Do us this one favor and we'll run more posts about porn. Survey thyself.

Yesterday, we asked for your indulgence -- all we wanted was for you to answer a few quick questions about your most intimate personal details. It's just point and click! How hard can that be! And should you choose to enter your email address at the conclusion of this VERY SHORT FOUR-QUESTION SURVEY, you'll be entered into a drawing to win a piece of scrip worth $100 of purchasing power at Amazon.com, an online purveyor of offline goods. Yes, this is considered a contest of sorts, and therefore we must all consent to certain standard rules. So just take the survey already. Then we can all get on with our lives and major advertising initiatives.

Have you been working out? Lost weight? Shtupping a new significant other of your preferred gender(s)? You're looking fit and well-rested. In fact, how'd you like (a chance at) an $100 Amazon.com gift certificate just for answering a few more flattering questions? Just go here and answer four very simple non-invasive queries. This will help us better choose which merchants may speak to you directly from these very pages. A random survey-answerer will get that sweet gift cert, worth at least three premium porn DVDs of your choosing. Standard contest rules apply, but don't let that stop you. Enter the survey, like Bruce Lee.

The well-heeled celebrated the well-traveled last night in Chelsea at the Art Directors Club, host of City magazine's travel photography exhibition. Titled "One City, Many Destinations," the competition called for entries that simply "capture the essence of a city." Of the 4,007 entries, City's publisher, John McDonald, only bemoaned the embarrassingly large number of Eiffel Tower submissions. One classic shot of Paris still made the final cut, but the remaining 15 represented more exotic locales, from Calcutta (chosen for 3 of the 16 spots) to the Cook Islands. Guests swilled free Peroni and Mionetto throughout the evening and browsed the finalists. Those who were generally impressed outnumbered the few who murmured about the jury's taste levels. In the end, it was Konstantino Hatzisarros' entry -- a photo of Burmese child monks -- that took the grand prize, which included a new Leica and a free stay at a W hotel. A full look at the finalists' work can be found in the October issue of City, with our photo gallery of the evening after the jump.

Always a pleasure when an online design-your-own promotion comes with no profanity filter. Embassy Suites is holding a contest for readers to design cute new formats for their "Do Not Disturb" sign, and while you can't upload your own images, they're happy to allow the use of gutter verbiage. Enjoy.

Do Not Disturb Hanger Contest [via AP]

The city's obsession with street carts, by no means a new phenomenon, reaches new levels of rabidity each year. Note the semi-celebrity status of the Dosa Man and the Arepa Lady, this summer's huge New York magazine spread all about street vendors, and last year's excellent indie flick Man Push Cart. Needless to say the annual Vendy Awards -- where one lucky vendor is crowned king of all street food -- has transformed from a small-time fundraiser to a major foodie event in just three years. To decide who makes it to the Vendies, the Street Vendor Project is taking nominations now. But don't forget to tell us about your favorite vendor here. We'd like to hear your nominations so we can map them out along with the finalists when they're announced September 1. The award ceremony takes place on Sept 29, so you have plenty of time to prepare for an onslaught of empanadas, chicken-and-rice, and halal lamb with white sauce.

Nominate a Street Vendor [Vendies]

[Photo: I Heart Carts]

The sun is shining and the rhythm is sweet, so pass the dutchie and remember that you can get it if you really want. If reggae music and culture happens to be what you want, you'll be feeling fine and making musical communion as you check out the following shops, restaurants, and reggae-inspired club nights around Los Angeles. And just in case you need even more motivation to ride the lion to Zion, the first person to correctly answer the question after the jump gets two free tickets to Reggae Night VI at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, August 12.

We don't often mention external contests anymore, but this one comes with a pretty substantial prize. Reyka Vodka is offering a trip for 10 people (in one group -- that is, you and nine friends) to Reykjavik for the Iceland Airwaves music fest (October 19-21). The prize includes round-trip airfare through a few U.S. hubs flown by Icelandair (excluding, perversely, New York's JFK); two nights' stay at the Nordica Hotel; a trip to the Blue Lagoon; and passes to the music fest. (There's some disagreement between the contest blurb and official rules, so caveat emptor.) Entry deadline is August 18, and the official prize value is listed as $10,000 ... be prepared to cough up a few grand for the taxman should you nail the big score.

Long Weekend [Iceland Naturally]

UPDATE: Full disclosure -- the info on this contest came over the tipline transom before I discovered that Reyka also happens to be one of our site sponsors this week. Icky!