2nd ManipalBlog Short Story and Poetry Competition: Illuminati 2012 (India)

Monday, May 7, 2012

Deadline: 1 June 2012

After Illuminati 2011 received a good response,with 90 poems and 19 short stories,we announce the second edition of the ManipalBlog annual short story and poetry contest – Illuminati 2012.

We encourage student writers in India to explore and celebrate their talents by sending in their new, untried work. Writers may try their hand in both the categories: Short Story and Poetry.

MANIPALBLOG ANNUAL SHORT STORY AND POETRY COMPETITION: ILLUMINATI 2012

Illuminati 2012: the 2nd ManipalBlog Annual short story and poetry contest

Entries will be accepted between 12:00 AM , 1st May 2012 and 12:00 AM 1st June 2012. The entries will be published online at Manipalblog.com, on 1st June 2012 and one month will be given for our readers to appreciate and vote for them. Results will be announced on 15th August 2012 !

1. Eligibility:

• The contest is open to all student residents in India.
• Only original, unpublished, fictional short stories of 1500 words or less and written in English without profanity are eligible.
• Multiple entries in each category are allowed.
• Each article must contain solely the entrant’s original ideas and language. Your submission of the article and entry form is your guarantee that you are the sole author and copyright holder of the article.
• Entrants under the age of 18 may enter only with the permission of their parent or guardian.
• Administrators, Editors and Family members of ManipalBlog.com are not eligible to enter.

2. Restrictions: Entries may not be submitted for publication or published elsewhere (either digitally or in print). Incomplete or illegible entries and entries that do not meet the Eligibility standards in these official rules may be disqualified.

3. Short story requirements

• Be between 1000 to 2000 words.
• Be on the topic or theme provided.
• Be written in the English language.
• Be wholly the original work of the entrant, written solely by the entrant.
• Not be copied from any other source.
• Not have been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format.
• Not be in the public domain.
• Not be in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity.
• Not include any language or other content that is inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, or otherwise unfit for dissemination or broadcast, as determined by ManipalBlog.com in its sole discretion.
• Meet the deadline.

4. Poetry requirements

• No single poem should exceed 60 lines.
• Both metered and free verse qualify, as well as prose poems that are so designated by the poet are accepted.
• Be on the topic or theme provided.
• Be written in the English language.
• Be wholly the original work of the entrant, written solely by the entrant.
• Not be copied from any other source.
• Not have been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format.
• Not be in the public domain.
• Not be in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity.
• Not include any language or other content that is inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, or otherwise unfit for dissemination or broadcast, as determined by ManipalBlog.com in its sole discretion.
• Meet the deadline.

Entries not satisfying these criteria in any respect will be disqualified. If ManipalBlog.com, in its sole discretion, has reason to believe that any entry contains any material that may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, or that the use or broadcast of such entry in the manner described herein may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, ManipalBlog.com may immediately disqualify such entry

5. How to Enter: There is NO FEE to enter this contest. Follow these steps to enter:

• Complete the contest entry form here, and attach the word/.txt document and click on the submit form button.
• The entries must be received by 11:59pm on May 31st, 2012. The link will be inactive thereafter.
• By submitting a story entry, the entrant grants to ManipalBlog.com:
• The right to edit the Story for grammar, spelling and punctuation; and
• A non-exclusive, assignable, perpetual, license to produce, publish, distribute, transmit, exhibit, exploit, and license the Story and any portions thereof in any format (collectively “distribute” or “distribution,” as applicable) by any and all means, uses and media, whether audio, print, audiovisual or otherwise, now or hereafter known, throughout the universe in all languages without financial compensation.
• Incomplete or illegible entries may be disqualified.

6. Judging and Awards

• Like last year, we will be having prizes in the popular choice and critics choice categories for both short stories and poetry.
• The popular choice awards will be based on the traffic, Facebook ‘Likes’ and Tweets the short story/ poem generates between 1st June 2012 and 1st July 2012.
• Critics choice awards will be based on the scoring by our judging Panel. The judging panel may include: teaching professionals, librarians, children’s author, illustrators, and editors. Judging will begin on June 2, 2010 and the winners will be announced on or about August 15th, 2010 at the website www.manipalblog.com . The decisions of the judges are final and binding.
• Certificates will be given away to all the participants via mail or in person if they live in Manipal/Mangalore.
• Cash prizes for first place , second place , and third place will be offered in each of the categories (short stories and poetry).
• 5 entries in each category will receive online gift vouchers.
• There will be separate awards for popular and critics choice winners.
• The prizes in each category will be announced on 2nd June 2012. (Last year the total prize money was Rs. 10000/-and this year it will be much more than that!)
• Prizes will be awarded in Cash (If based in Manipal/Mangalore) or via Bank transfer only! We will not be mailing cheques or Demand Drafts to the winners.
• ManipalBlog.com reserves the right to refuse to award prizes in any category if the entries are considered to be of insufficient merit.

Entries that do not follow all of these instructions will be disqualified.

THE TOPICS AND THEMES for the Annual ManipalBlog Short Story & Poetry competition: Illuminati 2012 are as follows:

Short Story Topics:

• The first day of college, a love note, and I suddenly saw a light at a distance…
• A young student, corruption in the college, joins politics to save country
• The Tablet, 21/12, Technology saves humanity from the Mayans.

Poetry Themes:

• The girl at the fair
• Wonderland
• The sweet taste of Revenge

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: mail to contests@manipalblog.com with Illuminati 2012 as the subject line

For submissions: visit www.manipalblog.com/illuminati2012

Website: http://manipalblog.com

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Time for thanks never ends

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving day. So what? Everybody knows that. What is important is today, tomorrow and everyday.

Thanksgiving, a celebration of happiness began with the Pilgrims. They thanked God for their lives. Theirs was a celebration of thankfullness for the most basic of life's necessities. On this special day they gave thanks for things which we all take for granted. Things like water, home, clothes, family, food and friendships.

Today is Wednesday. Why not be thankful for these things which make our lives easy, today, as well as tomorrow. Then again on Monday and Tuesday and all next week and far into the future. Don't wait, now is a great time for thanks.

How about spending the rest of the day realizing what your thankful for. Even a simple pencil is worthy of thanks. What? Is this guy crazy you ask? My car is old. my Cal Grant check is late again, and, besides, all I had for breakfast was Wheaties.

Do I have to say it? No, but I will anyway. An old car is handy and a luxury to some people including myself, Cal Grants are probably one of the best things around and they aren't usually late and Wheaties for breakfast is pretty good.

If your waiting for something to be thankful for, chances are that it will take a long time to get here. Before that happens you might have forgotten about it anyway. Have a good Thanksgiving!

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New Ideas stretch the mind

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Thanksgiving already? At least it's a four-day weekend. It'll take that long to recover from all the food that should be around. Everyone has family at Thanksgiving. Or a substitute, or something. The way everyone's supposed to have something to be thankful for. If nothing else works, just being thankful for thinking there's something to be thankful for is something to think about.

I'm thankful for opinions, among other things. Generally, the opinions of others help to form the opinions of others. William Blake, a not-sounknown writer, said "To generalize is to be an idiot." That's his opinion and without it, would it be there, even in writing?

What is it they say about the tree in the woods? If a branch falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Others might have the same opinion but wouldn't know it unless they saw it so they see it then they have it. A vicious cycle. One that many feel is doomed to go on. Cynically opinionated, "Cynics are only happy in making the world as barren for others as they have made it for themselves." At least according to George Meridith, another writer.

Philosophers might disagree, but they disagree with almost everything, sometimes just to disagree. They wouldn't have anything to agree on if nothing was there to disagree with. There's the generally accepted fact that the president of this country is doing nothing but serving the interests of the wealthy while sweeping the hungry masses under the carpet. Calvin Coolidge said, "Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped." And Reagan uses it well. Then there's the other hand.

There's the generally accepted opinion that cancer research is nothing but a money-making sham with the sick dying off like flies to line the pockets of doctors who already have a solution for the scourge but aren't telling. Then there's the other hand. Some people think that the press in this country is telling the masses only news which background "higher-ups" allow for distribution. Who really believes everything they read? And then there's the other hand.

Vladmir Lenin (an infamous Russian) has even after death helped to lay down the framework for suspicion by saying "Our propaganda necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism." Who doesn't believe in God? But that's his opinion. George Washington (father of this country) said some hundred and a quarter years before "Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our blessed religion, we can never hope to be a happy nation." And people still wonder how this country has lasted for so long.

What was it Al Einstein said? "Science without religion is lame: religion without science is blind " Food for thought, though not enough to fill one up. "A proverb is not a proverb to you till your life has illustrated it, " opines John Keats. Then, Thoreau goes off and thinks "First of all man must see, before he can say." There sure are plenty of people that need to do a lot more seeing. But to hear some tell it, hope flies steadfastly on the horizon.

"Man's mind stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions." Oliver Wendell Holmes may have been sexist, but he'll never know. At least all know about the mindstretch because of him. And maybe a few others.

Four days off, four weeks till Christmas. What's the famous line about time? How what? I'll have to watch for cerebral stretchmarks over vacation. And remember what my old friend Mark Twain once said. "When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.'

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6 Movies that Scared me this Halloween!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

When it comes to watching scary movies, I’m the last person in line for tickets… Actually, I’m not even IN the line for tickets. I absolutely despise scary movies. I could never understand why someone would want to be scared into vivid nightmares about zombies and serial killers for the next two weeks? Why that is appealing to some is beyond me, but it got me thinking about what actually happens, physiologically, when people get scared. After a quick Google search I found out when you get scared your sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the basic “flight or fight” response. You either do one of two things, you fight, which means you stay there and face your fear or flight, meaning you run away. It’s your sympathetic nervous system that is in charge of increasing your heart rate, breathing and levels of adrenaline as well as putting your digestive system on pause so you’re not hungry.

Not wanting to disappoint those of you who are into being too-scared-to-turn-off-the-lights, here’s a list of the scariest movies of all time. So grab your hall mates, pop some popcorn, turn off all of the lights and be prepared to be scared:

1. The Shining: Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel could quite possibly be one of the scariest films of all time. The bone-chilling movie is based in an isolated hotel where Jack Nicholson’s character and his family have moved in as caretakers for the winter. What follows is a ghostly encounter with a former hotel custodian who murdered his wife and two daughters. Beware: The eerie silence of the movie will haunt you long after you’ve hit the stop button.

2. The Silence of the Lambs: Anthony Hopkins, as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the Cannibal, will scare you into numbness. Not for the weakhearted (like me)-- the psychological thriller is a two-hour-long hair-raiser about FBI agent Clarice Starling, who tries to gain insight into a murderer’s mind by interviewing the psychopath Hannibal.

3. Halloween: A Halloween night turns deadly when a former child murderer escapes from the mental hospital and returns to his small hometown to terrorize a babysitter. Soon her friends start disappearing one by one…

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The film that spawned six sequels and made Freddy Krueger into a household monster is still a mustwatch horror flick. A group of teenagers start having dreams about a scarred man with razor fingers and soon they are brutally murdered in their sleep. The remaining teen, Nancy, realizes that she has to stay awake to survive. Good luck going to bed after this one!

5. The Exorcist: You’ll know why The Exorcist is the most bloodcurdling movie ever made when you watch the brutal depiction of a 12-year-old girl possessed by an evil spirit as the exorcist tries to save her.

6. Seven: Shock, nausea, and utter fright, you’ll feel it all at the pit of your stomach while watching Seven. The intense psychological drama follows two detectives, played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, as they try to catch a maniac who plans to kill seven people, one for each of the seven deadly sins.

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Halloween Fun Puns

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

It’s October, so that means Halloween is right around the corner. Halloween reminds me of trick or treating, going to haunted houses, and eating candy until I turn. However, lately the end of October reminds me of presentations I have to give, homework I have to finish, and studying until I pass out cold. It’s easy for me to get stressed out around this time and forget about the spirit of Halloween. I think that the best medicine might be some candy corn and a few corny jokes. So I will take a break from hectic October to share these ghoulish friends.

What do skeleton before dining?
Bone Appetite!

What happened to the guy who did not pay his exorcist?
He got repossessed.

What’s a monsters favorite play?
Romeo and Ghouliet!

Where do mummies go for a swim?
The Dead Sea!

Why does Dracula think he’s an artist?
Because he draws blood!

What is the ratio to a pumpkin’s circumference to its diameter?
Pumpkin Pi!

What do you get when you cross Bambi with a Ghost?
Bamboo!

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