April 2009
"Name The Crappy Town Where You're a Hero" Charity Auctions Live!
April 26, 2009
Quantum Mechanix (QMx) is sponsoring the “Name the Crappy Town Where You’re a Hero” charity auction. Starting April 26th, 50 town names will be auctioned via eBay with all proceeds going to Equality Now. If you win an auction, your name will be submitted, and pending studio approval, will be used in the upcoming official Atlas of the 'Verse, Volume One: The Trader's Guild Guide to the New Canaan Run made by our favorite mild-manner graphic designer, Ben Mund. The auctions are being hosted by Austin Browncoats.
More information, including links to each eBay auction can be found here: http://www.austinbrowncoats.com/crappytown.php.
Questions can be sent to info@austinbrowncoats.com with the subject "Crappy Town Question".
Geekstravaganza Art Contest - New Deadline
Notice: The deadline for the Geekstravaganza Art Contest has been extended to May 2, 2009, so get your entries in now!
Name a Crappy Town Where You're a Hero For Charity
April 14, 2009
Are you a Browncoat? Check.
Well, then, you love Firefly and Serenity? Check.
Do you have a crappy town where you're a hero? ...No.
Well, now you can!
Quantum Mechanix (QMx) is sponsoring the "Name the Crappy Town Where You’re a Hero" charity auction. Starting on April 20th, 50 town names will be auctioned via eBay with all proceeds supporting Equality Now. If you win an auction, your name will be submitted, and pending studio approval, will be used in the upcoming official Atlas of the 'Verse, Volume One: The Trader's Guild Guide to the New Canaan Run made by our favorite mild-manner graphic designer, Ben Mund.
Ready to start naming? Here are some guidelines:
- Town name should be 15 characters or less, not including punctuation or spaces.
- No curse words, please.
- Try to avoid obviously jokey or pop-reference names, such as "Bobsville" or "Frakkintown".
Available planets and towns include Ariel, Higgins’ Moon and Sihnon.
The auctions are being run by the Austin Browncoats in support of 2009’s Can’t Stop The Serenity. Visit www.cantstoptheserenity.com to find a screening near you! To find out more about Equality Now, visit http://equalitynow.org. For more information, visit www.quantummechanix.com.
Beth Nelson
Manager, Social Media Marketing and Community Outreach
512-484-9641
beth@quantummechanix.com
SafePlace, chosen charity supported by Geekstravaganza 2009
April 2, 2009
Geekstravaganza is a charity geekfest the Austin Browncoats host to raise money for a worthy cause while uniting Geeks, Nerds and Browncoats alike. This year, we're supporting SafePlace, in their goal to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change.
We take choosing our supported charities very seriously. There are so many amazing charity groups working to make this world a better place in whatever way they can. We're proud to be given the opportunity to help them with their cause.
SafePlace is an outstanding organization that is invaluable to the Austin, TX community. They envision a community free of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. To learn more about SafePlace: www.safeplace.org
Keira Knightley recently filmed a domestic violence PSA that really struck a cord within us. It is intense, but extremely effective: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/keira-knightley.html
It is time someone called cut. According to the National Institute of Justice, from a recent National Violence survey, approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States. Those numbers are staggering. SafePlace is doing their part to save lives here in Austin. But they need our help. We hope you will all help us make Geekstravaganza as successful as it can be. SafePlace saves lives, and it's our duty to make sure they can continue to do so.
Thank you,
Austin Browncoats
Attention All Geeks - Geekstravaganza 2009 Art Contest
April 1, 2009
How old were you when you realized you were a geek? Are you an out and proud geek or are you still in the closet? Think you're more of a dork than a geek? Do nerds really have more fun? What's the difference between Sci-Fi and SyFy? (Well, that's an easy one.)
We might not have all the answers, but we hope you have what it takes to win our Geekstravaganza 2009 Art Contest!
Geekstravaganza is a charity geekfest the Austin Browncoats host to raise money for a worthy cause while uniting Geeks, Nerds and Browncoats alike. Each Geekstravaganza, we invite a new musical act to regale us in song as we do our best Carlton dance. This year, we're honored to have Marian Call, a geek goddess, visiting our section of the 'verse.
We'll host an All-Geek Talent Show, All-Nerd Costume Contest and all Sci-Fi Trivia Bee. Winners get to bring home fabulous prizes and proudly let their geek banners fly!
This year, we'll even have some awesomely geeky (verging on a little too cool) demonstrations, but more on that at a later date.
Right now, I need you to get excited about our art contest. We need to find the geekiest, most fabulous big damn artist out there to help us create our t-shirt and website graphic for Geekstravaganza 2009. Your art will be featured on our t-shirts, website, as well as any promotional material we make for the event. Just think about it - you'll get to put your geeky stamp on our event and help us create a keepsake for a memorable night of charitable fun!
Of course, we have some guidelines. (I know, I know. Normally rules are boring, but fortunately, we're geeks and we can deal with a little structure!)
- Due April 26, 2009.
- Artwork must be geek themed.
- Artwork must be original.
- Remember, we're supporting charity. For ideas about themes you shouldn't include, check out the charities we support: http://www.austinbrowncoats.com/charities.php
- Vector format is recommended, with EPS (Encapsulated Postscript File - Vector Mode) being our most preferred method.
- Remember you're making a design that will need to translate to t-shirt printing, as well as website theme. Designs that can be rendered down to four color would be best.
- When in doubt, ask us a question instead of guessing: info@austinbrowncoats.com.
But, but, but...what do you win for all of your hardwork? Fame and recognition, of course. You get to tell folks whose design reigned supreme! (Pretend that rhymed...) You might also win some autographed, geeky swag. Maybe. Just maybe. It's a definite maybe.
Think you have what it takes to make the best damn geeky graphic out there? We can't wait to see what you have to offer. And think, if you hang out with us at Geekstravaganza, you'll get to hear us tell everyone about how "the artistic force is strong with this one" and really - how can that get old?
Geekstravaganza Info
When: May 17th, 2009, starting at 5PM
Where: Buffalo Billiards, Austin, TX
Why: Geeks like to do good works!
www.geekstravaganza.com