I made this poster to help promote it…

Get the poster here.

Print if off. Put it up at work. Post it in the hallways. Then be sure to TwitPic yourself holding it with the #derushaday hashtag.

You know, just spread the love!

UPDATE:
@sloped is auctioning off the “original” DeRusha Day poster on eBay.

There’s a party tonight (Monday, Sept. 21) at Om. Details here.

From the press release in my inbox:

“Nobody in America should go hungry,” says, “MagicBrad”, the coordinator of the mission. “My objective is simple. I want everyone in the Twin Cities with an email address, to email 2 other people about this project. Done. The food we collect goes to the local food shelves, so donations stay right within the community.”

Sounds easy enough to me.

The food will be collected on Oct. 17-18, 2009 at the Minneapolis Convention Center – HALL C.

Clever, yes. Funny, no.

I’m still waiting for him to be funny.

My 8 year-old child mourns today… Como Zoo’s Sparky the Sea Lion died this week.

Via MPR:

Sparky V, the oldest sea lion at the Como Zoo in St. Paul and the second oldest sea lion in North America, died on Monday at the age of 31. The average life expectancy of a sea lion is 15-25 years.

The California sea lion was the star of the “Sparky Show” at the Como Zoo from 1981 up until his retirement in 2001. He was the fifth animal to play the role of Sparky.

Above is a photo I took of Sealia, his replacement, last June.

So of those 34 million*, apparently 20,000 people get lost trying to find the right airport terminal every year.

This is apparently a very big deal, as the Metropolitan Airports Commission’s finance, development and environment committee voted this morning to spend $2.2 million to improve signs directing travelers to the two airport terminals.

That’s $1.2 million more than it was a month ago, and $2.2 million more than zero dollars.

Per my “free” alternative suggestions last month, when you purchase a ticket, it already tells you which terminal your flight leaves from. When you check-in or look up your flight online, it tells you which terminal your flight leaves from, too.

Given the economy, price of airline tickets and growing carrier fees — and the fact that 33,980,000* MSP visitors aren’t having trouble distinguishing between the airports — it sure seems like a better alternative to me. Expecting folks to pay attention is much cheaper than $2.2 million for 20,000 people.

* (note: I don’t expect all of those 34 million originated from driving into one of the two terminals, but it’s a good ballpark to work from)

Come out to the 4th of July races at Canterbury Park and enjoy free Hormel Hot Dogs, our annual hot dog eating contest, and the weiner dog championship race! First race 1:30 PM.

The last time I was in LA we were walking by the studio when the PIR crowd was let out, and it was insane to see all the crazies with their homemade shirts and giant nametags. I’m glad to see the historic gameshow is branching out for its talent.

From the Chaska Herald:

Well, come Saturday, Aug. 1, people will have that chance as “The Price is Right” will conduct a national contestant search for the first time in the show’s 38-year history at Mystic Lake Casino, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd, Prior Lake.

Producers for CBS’ popular daytime television game show will interview contestant hopefuls in major U.S. markets.

From those interviews, three participants will be selected from each location to fly to Los Angeles and attend a taping of the legendary game show between September 2009 and February 2010. A bidder’s spot on contestants’ row will be guaranteed to one of the three participants, who will learn if they are selected to “come on down” when they hear their name called during the show’s taping.

It doesn’t say how the competition will work, but I assume points — for what I’m calling “Price Is Right Idol” — will be awarded on the basis of:

• Gaudy clothing with clever verbiage
• Bad makeup and/or perm
• Military haircut
• Shout-outs

But seriously, I wonder how many markets they’re doing this in? It kind of sucks they pick three people to fly to LA and then only have one go on stage. Sorry mom.

Stinky Chicken Guano Sand – Free! (Minneapolis)

Combination of sand and chicken guano free to a good home. Twice a year I have to muck out my chicken pen and this stinky stuff is the result. It’s a combo of sandbox sand, chicken poop and chicken feed that they didn’t eat. It stinks really bad and should probably be buried in a compost pile but if you want some I will be happy to tell you where to come and pick it up. I’m sure it is very nutritious for your garden! This is in double contractor bags and they are kind of heavy.

Get it here

Well, they built their Web site in flash, and it won’t load on my Blackberry Bold, which is my primary surfing device. Strike 1.

And although the band line-up does feature Judas Priest and Whitesnake, they aren’t enough for me to make the trek out of the burbs. Strike 2.

And I discover you have to PAY TO GET IN this year. Strike 3.

That’s it. I’m not going this year.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love Taste of Minnesota (see posts from 2006, 2007).

I used to live in downtown St. Paul where I could see the evening fireworks from my balcony. We would walk over every evening, listen to the awesome classic rock bands (Kansas, Deep Purple, Charlie Daniels, Alice Cooper) and get raped on 8-ticket juicy lucys. Some nights my wife and I would split something, spending less than $10 total. But some nights I myself wouldn’t spend any money — instead just enjoying the festival, people and festivities while our friends blew their wallets on fried things and powdered thats and super expensive beer and lemonade. We went every night one year and have gone multiple nights every year.

But this year, going multiple nights will be pricey up front, and despite the recession, my wife and I would have to pay $20 (plus parking and gas, mind you) just to get in the gates. Festival organizers say they need to charge an entrance fee to keep out the riff-raff, justifying it by saying visitors will get $10 in food tickets and they only charge after 3 p.m. If you ask me, 3 p.m. is a looooong time before the 8:30 headliner time.

Personally, I don’t like them forcing you to buy food tickets and think it will severely limit their turnout far beyond the riff-raff their hoping to keep out. That’s too bad for local bands like Quietdrive, The 757s and Throw the Fight (whose lead singer is battling cancer, and I believe this is their first show back).

What do you think? Will a family of four over the age of 12 really shell out $40 just to get in the gates? Will the entrance fee keep you away?

From using the Google machine, I can’t immediately rule out if they they are gypsy moths nor tent caterpillars, mainly because these photos don’t show all of the larval stages.

Got any ideas for me? And should I be notifying the Minnesota Department of Agriculture or another organization?