Oh em gee, another contest!

Happy Sunday, folks!

I know I've been beating you over the head with my support of the Mario Marathon, but I'm going to continue to do this today (you'll get a break soon, don't worry *wink*).

For the remainder of the day, every donation to the Mario Marathon through my blog gets you an entry to win a set of six Mario themed pot holders, handmade by my friend @missindyjones!  Not only that, but if you donate a minimum $5 you'll also get entered to win a Wii U in the grand prize drawing from the folks at Mario Marathon!

Five dollars for a chance to win six handmade potholder AND a WiiU?? That's a pretty fantastic deal, if you ask me!

Send a screen grab of your donation (should look something like the pic below) to runningwithdithers@outlook.com and you'll be entered to win!

 
Good luck everyone! 

Contest Time!

Hello friends!

So I'm going to be running at least one or two contests over the next few days to promote the Mario Marathon.

The first contest is Perler Portrait!

Every $10 donated via my blog (using the donate button to the right) before June 21, 2013, 9:00 PM (PST) gets you one entry to win a custom made Perler portrait. Email a screen grab of your donation to runningwithdithers@outlook.com and you'll be added to the draw.

The winner will be announced on this blog and will need to email their photo so that I can pixelate it and turn it into Perler awesomeness.  It will take a couple of weeks to make it (need to make sure I have the right amount of the right coloured beads), but I'll get it out to you ASAP.

So start donating, and look as awesome as Mr. Jackson up there!

Road Trip Travel Tips

 My family and I love traveling and between us have driven across most of Canada and America.  It's been a long time since I've posted anything (sorry!  It's been a hectic 5 months or so) but my partner has been amazing enough to write something for me.  He's basically a young Rick Steves when it comes to traveling, so pay attention.

These days advice about how to have a good roadtrip seems to revolve around what apps you have on your phone, I would like to provide something a bit more substantial to those of you planning to hit the road...

In-car Entertainment: Don't rely on a cell phone app that may require data coverage or drain your battery, bring a broad selection of mp3s and give everyone unlimited vetos - peace and enjoyment restored reliably. Bring a video game for the kid but just one game so it can be used as needed but not be a focus for the entire trip.

Shotgun Responsibilities: The person riding shotgun should operate and interpret the GPS and provide snacks to the driver upon request, also helping out with changing music and finding sunglasses and whatnot - this makes for a safer, happier drive.

Don't Fear The Stop: Don't hate on the guy who needs a bathroom break, this is a chance to dump garbage, refuel, clean the windows, stretch your legs, resupply, etc. It's an opportunity for all or a frustration for most depending on how you look at it.

Be Flexible: Unexpected stops, missed exits, and things spotted along the way can lead to great discoveries and experiences - keep your itinerary flexible and don't fall in love with an idea to the exclusion of others.

Be Prepared: Don't plan every meal but bring information on major restaurants near every hotel stay. Provide everyone options and give everyone a chance to express their opinion. Superior information makes for a superior experience.

If you want more posts like this, or more posts "ghost written" by my partner, please comment on this post and I will accommodate as best as I can.

Over the next week or so I will have some more content on here as the Mario Marathon is starting again on June 21st. My donation widget is on the right; it would be awesome if you could donate.  Those of you who know me and my blog know that I'm a huge supporter of Mario Marathon and Child's Play Charity.  Those of you who aren't familiar with me and my blog, there are a number of posts explaining what both are all about and why I go on and on about them.  The labels associated with this post will direct you to those posts. 

See you all soon!

Over $1600 Raised! Wow!

This is so incredible!  I'm right up there with Penny Arcade and GrubberGamer, of all sites!  This is amazing!  The Mario Marathon this year has raised over $75K $76K so far and 100% of the proceeds will go to Child's Play Charity. They buy video games, consoles, toys and books for kids in hospitals around the world so that they can feel like regular kids, if even for a little while. 

Additionally, studies have shown that by having these items of play around, children tend to heal faster and are less prone to infections and such as they are in a better place, mentally. The hospital staff also use the items of play as tools to help either explain to the kid whatever procedures they may have to go through, or to distract them from being potentially scared by the explanations.  

I'm so proud to be able to be a part of this and I want to thank each and every one of you who have contributed towards this amazing cause (and an extra special thanks to those who push the donations through my blog).  As a parent, it's heartening to know that should my child ever have to spend time in a hospital, people all over the world will have made it possible to bring a glimmer of fun and childishness into an other bleak situation. 

But it isn't over yet.  The marathon is still going strong.  So far 736 of 786 potential levels have been unlocked, and they have completed 650 of the paid levels.  Check out www.mariomarathon.com and watch.  It's incredibly fun and interactive.  If you feel inspired to give, click on the Donations button.  On the right-hand side of the page, you'll see a text box titled "Partner Sites".  Click on www.mindo-canadian.blogspot.com and then click "Donate via mindo-canadian.blogspot.com".  I am currently in fourth place on the list of Partner Sites.  I'm not trying to get the top dog spot.  I am more than happy to be "losing" (no one's losing here) to Penny Arcade and GrubberGamer.com but I think if this tiny little blog, that isn't even one year old can stay firmly in the top ten it would encourage more people to put the widget on their site as it shows that anyone can make a contribution.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this blog would be able to raise as much as it has, and I couldn't be prouder.  If you can't donate, please help spread the word .  Let's keep it going, everyone!

PS: I want to give an extra special thanks to @CoW_mAn, @malfunct, @GrubberGamer, @MMStats and @MarioMarathon for giving me so much support!  You're all amazing people and hold a special place in my heart!

Donor Push, take 2

Alright fans, we're going to do this again.


For the next three hours (it is currently 3:45 PDT) the person who donates the most amount of money for the Mario Marathon through my blog I will write a post of their choosing.  Conditions are the same: I will not write a post that violates the well established rules of the Mario Marathon itself (no cursing, no hating, no adult subject matter) but other than that it's fair game! We already have one winner and once he tells me what he wants me to write about, I'll get on it ASAP.

So send those donations in and let's raise some money for sick kids!

Much love and good luck!

PS:  In order for me to know that you've donated through my blog (you can refer this site's URL through the MarioMarathon website when donating.  The url is www.mindo-canadian.blogspot.com) and how much you've donated and what you want the post to be about, you will need to either comment on this post or tweet me at @stjohn_hippo.  At the end of the hour, I will the Mario Marathon guys and then get cracking on the post.

Donor Push

Hey guys,

If you're following my blog at all you know that I'm a huge supporter of the Mario Marathon.  The Marathon is currently on day three and as of right now they have raised over $58,000 worth of donations and I'm so very proud, humbled and amazed to see that $1197.60 $1222.60 of that has come through this blog, placing me in the fourth spot for Partner Sites.  You guys ROCK, but I know we can do better than this.

For the next hour three hours (it is currently 12:20 PDT) the person who donates the most amount of money for the Mario Marathon through my blog I will write a post of their choosing.  Now obviously, there are some conditions: I will not write a post that violates the well established rules of the Mario Marathon itself (no cursing, no hating, no adult subject matter) but other than that it's fair game! 

So send those donations in and let's raise some money for sick kids!

Much love and good luck!

PS:  In order for me to know that you've donated through my blog (you can refer this site's URL through the MarioMarathon website when donating.  The url is www.mindo-canadian.blogspot.com) and how much you've donated and what you want the post to be about, you will need to either comment on this post or tweet me at @stjohn_hippo.  At the end of the hour, I will the Mario Marathon guys and then get cracking on the post.

Today is my birthday

But I don't want to talk about that (though, thank you to everyone who took some time out of their day to wish me a happy birthday.  That was incredibly touching!)

I want to, again, talk about the Mario Marathon.  The event starts tomorrow at 11AM EST and already they have raised almost over $12,000 (update: as I was writing this post, they surpassed $12,000!).  In fact, they've raised more than the grand total of the first ever Mario Marathon, and it hasn't even started yet!  I don't know that I've ever gone into why I support the Mario Marathon so much.  In my first post about the marathon, I touched on the viewer interactivity a bit, but today I want to expand on that a little more.

Over the years, my partner and I have become regular viewers of the marathon.  Whenever they broadcast anything (such as testing the picture in picture, writing code for the Wheel of Awesome, practicing SMB3, or sewing Toad hats), we try to pop in to the social stream and watch what's going on and interact with the other viewers as well as with whomever is broadcasting at that time.  Since there are a number of people who do the same, it's turned into quite an online community.  There are a good number of people in the Mario Marathon who I consider a friend and there are often talks of meet-ups at some convention or another.  As far as I know, a handful of these people have, in fact, met IRL.

In this community we support one another.  There's a section on the Mario Marathon website that highlights partner sites (thanks to everyone for your generous donations and keeping me in the #1 spot!  Let's see if we can keep it that way, hey?) and while there's some friendly competition going on between us, we still are super proud of each others accomplishments.  One of the other top partner sites is GrubberGamer.com, and boy are they catching up to me fast!

GrubberGamer.com is a site that scours the internet for deals (either through online retailers, marketplaces and specialty stores) looking for the best video game deals and discounts.  They have done a great job of finding a way for every day people who really love gaming but can't afford big box store prices to get the games they want without harming their wallet.  If you're a gamer (or a gamer groupie, like I am), I encourage you to check out their website.  It's run by amazing people (check them out on twitter, @GrubberGamer) who won't lead you astray in your affordable video game needs.

But donate through my blog to the Mario Marathon, mmkay? Consider it a birthday present.

5 More Days!!

In five short days (one of them being my birthday!), the Mario Marathon starts.  In five days, 4 grown men (with the help/support of their significant others/children/employers/friends) are going to sacrifice sleep, showers, proper meals, privacy, and sleep for an undetermined amount of time.  In five days, they're going to give hours, and days of their own time for charity. 

In five days, they're going to play Mario games.

That's right, Mario games. 

It's quite amazing, actually.  If you haven't yet, go check out some of their previous Mario Marathons (this is the fourth year of marathons) and watch the hilarity unfold as they sit around, playing video games and encouraging people to donate to Child's Play Charity.  If you're a regular follower of this blog, you're a person of class and incredibly intelligent, and you also remember that I wrote a post about what the Mario Marathon and Child's Play Charity is all about.  If you haven't read it yet, that's alright, I forgive you.  But as a penance, you should probably go to that little wiget I have on the side and donate.  It's to the right of your screen.  See it?  It's under the list of posts and above my bio.  Yeah, that blue box there that says Mario Marathon in really cool font.  Click it.  Click it, now. 

Can't donate?  That's okay.  Come check out the marathon and see for yourself how amazing these guys are, and how much fun this marathon is.  With any luck, it will inspire you to spread the word which in turn might generate more donations for this awesome cause. 

Mario Marathon 4

If you’re like me, you grew up cutting your gaming teeth on Super Mario Bros. and its successors, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and Super Mario 64. You probably went over to your friend’s house when s/he got the most recent game or most recent platform or had friends come over to your place. I bet you, like me, played SMB3 during the wee hours of the night at a super low volume so as not to wake up your parents. When Game Genie came out, you of course had to try it out. Maybe you loved it (I did) or maybe you didn’t like that it made things too easy.

When Super Mario 64 came out, did you love it? Hate it? Or never play it?

Did you buy your Wii before you got the New Super Mario Bros.Wii? Did you count the days until it was release, like we did in our house? Or did you buy the Wii specifically for the New Super Mario Bros? How many times have you played Super Mario Sunshine only to rage quit?

Have you taught your children to play Mario games? What game did you start them off with? We have been teaching our 3 year old to play Super Mario Bros.

How many great memories do you have playing Super Mario Bros. games?

Now, thinking back on life as a kid, were you ever have admitted in a hospital? Did you have to stay over night? Did you have to stay longer? How scary was it, not having your family with you, maybe not fully understanding why you were there, or perhaps understanding completely? Maybe this wasn’t you, but your brother, sister, cousin, niece, nephew, friend, student. How helpless did you feel, watching them in their hospital bed and not being able to make things better and make time go by faster? How much easier would it have been for you if you (or your loved one) had something to occupy your time while you were there?

Well, in comes Child’s Play Charity. “Child's Play is a charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games-based webcomic Penny Arcade that organizes worldwide toy drives to children's hospitals. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins founded Child's Play in 2003 to improve the lives of sick children by donating toys and games to hospitals worldwide…Through Child's Play, donors have sent almost nine million dollars in toys, games and books to children's hospitals all over the world “

There are lots of organizations that fully support the efforts and in turn, many individuals (or non-corporate groups) who see the value of this charity. One such group is the guys from the Mario Marathon. They are three guys from the Mid-West who give up days of sleep to play games from the Super Mario Bros. series. They started back in 2008 and have been growing in popularity and success ever since. Every year, usually around the last weekend of June, Brian, John and Chris (and their friends) will take off a chunk of days from work and their family and try to play as many Mario games, while streaming the footage online, for as long as donations keep rolling in and 100% of all proceeds will go to the Child’s Play charity.

Saying these guys are computer savvy is totally underselling their technical abilities as they have written codes for widgets, headers, donation counters, picture in picture streaming and so much more. They have set up donation levels (are you a Princess donor or a Mario donor?) and have come up with a geometric equation that dictates the number of levels played on the games for the amount of money donated. Away from the computer, they get crafty. I mean, literally crafty. In the past, they have replicated a FLUUD, a propeller helmet, and a couple of stop motion shorts. This year, they have already outdone themselves with their craftiness.

One of the (many) success of this particular gaming marathon is their viewer interaction. My family discovered via Twitter, as did many of the loyal followers of the marathon. They encourage fan art submissions, suggestions on contests, tweeting to the Mario Marathon guys, and/or participating on the live chat through their U-Stream feed. Last year they had a couple of celebrity interviews (internet mainstays, Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day) and were even featured on a local news segment; all of this was live tweeted.

Over the years they have raised $125,408 collectively and things are just going to go up from there. Already (and, remember, the marathon hasn’t even started!) $1484.93 has been raised, and they have unlocked 344 goals.

This year, the marathon is set for June 24^th, 2011 (12PM EST, I believe) so please make sure you set that on your calendar and pop in that weekend from time to time. Look for me, @cndn_hippo, to be tweeting like a madwoman as I cheer on these heroes: Brian "Shirt Guy" Brinegar, John "Couch Guy" Groth and Chris "Slouch Guy" Deckard.

PS: It’s worth noting that they are all fathers and are giving up time with their wives and children as they do this. Their families all deserve to be recognized and cheered for their generosity and most certainly their patience! Particularly Brian’s wife, as the marathon is held at their house. It’s not easy to give up sleep and a weekend with your husband and child, and not only does she do this, she even plays some levels from time to time. You rock, Mrs. Shirt Guy!!

PPS: It’s also worth noting that friends of the show, @funnelfiasco, @diamondawg42, @jedediaj, and many others give up a lot of their time to support the Mario Marathon guys by live tweeting, being moderators of the chat, dancing!, playing the occasional level and providing us with some Jed Time stories. You are all superstars in my eyes.

Click the link to view the official Mario Marathon 4 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iq0oWGkYRo