The Stunner Qualifiers Start Soon!

The Stunner qualifying rounds start in October! For the newcomers who are unaware, go here to figure out why you need to try and get into this blogging competition.

The Stunner Tournament is invite-only and so far, here are the participants who qualify based on April's performance:

Brandon from My Own Private Idaho

Michelle from Mommy Confessions

Falen from Colorful Rants of a Fed Up Sista

Bob from Squatlo Rant

The above do not need to participate in the qualifying round based on April's finish. That leaves 12 spots available for next April's contest! Who will fill these 12 spots? It shall be decided in a qualifying tournament!

The qualifying round will be filled with some contestants from the inaugural event:

the Tsaritsa sez
Thoughts of a Randomista
Life of Ann James
Empowered Peace
Yeah. Good Times.
Mommy Confessions
Rantings of the Reckmonster
Jersey Diva Mom
This Daddys Blog
Guys, Boys & Men
LogAllot
Man, Wife & Dog
Diana Dishes
The Hurricane

Now, the odds of all 14 of these people accepting the invite are slim. So, in order for me to reach 16 people for the qualifying round, I'll need two more participants. The two participants in which I would like to offer the final two spots:

The Chocolate Knot and Israel Carrasco Monologue Jokes

For each of the above who decline this event or don't respond in a timely fashion, then I'll have to find someone to replace them. I'll do just that by get new participants based on frequent comments, retweets and Facebook Likes.

To confirm interest in joining or to confirm entry into the tournament from an invite, then please just simply comment below.
The actual tournament is in April 2012 and the inaugural event cleared more than 35,000 page views during the duration of the tournament. So, if you're looking for exposure and a chance to increase your followers, then you really need to comment below and hope you can get in!

The deadline for the aforementioned names to RSVP with a comment below is Thursday, October 13th!

More details to come!

Embracing Diversity

As you know, I recently hit the 100 follower mark. People from multiple backgrounds around the globe fill that list and it feels great to interact with them all. It's a feeling that I welcome because I wasn't able to experience as a kid.

I enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds. I'm not just talking about someone who may have grown up in the "deep country" or in the "big city". I'm talking about people who have immediate roots in foreign countries.

Growing up in Mississippi, pretty much everything in my school was black and white. Literally. We had roughly eight Hispanics, maybe two Asians and one Indian. I was vice president of our high school Spanish Club, so I knew most of the Hispanics. I had a class with the Indian, Pratop, who was fascinated by blondes and saw little-to-no time to hang out with the likes of my crew. I didn't know either of the Asians classmates while in school, but later met one of them a decade later in a nightclub when she recognized me. My knowledge of her barely went past a brief conversation that night.

So, pretty much through all of my youth, everyone I came in contact with daily was either black or white. I never got a chance to embrace different cultures until much later in life as I got into the workplace. Over time, I got to travel and I met and established friendships with my first Asian, Russian, German, etc. Now I have a melting pot of associates and the blogging world has extended that opportunity even more.

I've interacted with people from all over the world and I would just like to say "thanks." From Paula in Germany or Alice X in England to my Cuban-born blogging inspiration, Annah.

So, regardless if you're a Ukrainian-Canadian redhead named Cherie living on the west coast or a black, Mississippi educator sharing my home state like Diana, then I have much love for you!

If you're one of my readers from out of the country, please say "hello" in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you and find out how you found the blog.

Props to Mynx! #100

I just recently hit Follower #100 and her name is Mynx!

Props to her for helping me hit the century mark and to show my appreciation, I'm going to pimp her blogs for all of you to check out!

You can find her blogs here:

Secret Pleasures

Something Else

- and -

Dribble.....

Thanks, Mynx!

It's very nice to know that 100 people thought enough of me to allow me to bog down their Google Reader with my weekly rants and crazy thoughts. Although comments are more of a true representation of viewership, it's still nice to know that I've had this number of people take time to support the blog!

Thanks to you all!

The Real Blogger Shore's Amazing Undercover Idol Intro

I know you're staring at that title and wondering if I've officially lost my mind.

Maybe. I was on the Yahoo! homepage and I noticed some "news" stories about one or two reality shows and it gave me an idea: I'm going to write a reality show idea about bloggers and pitch it to FOX!

It will be called: The Real Blogger Shore's Amazing Undercover Idol! (Did I hit every major reality show title in that?)  Basically, it's about some stereotypical bloggers who are stashed in a posh mansion in Helena, Montana. Why Helena? Because the mansions there are cheaper to rent than Beverly Hills. We're on a budget, you know? Now, stay with me.

This show will be very similar to MTV's "The Real World" which some people call the first traditional reality show. Like "TRW," you need an interesting blend of characters to sell the show. Here are my list of bloggers to join the mansion:

Bob (Squatlo Rant) is the show host. He'll give us the assignments and will be the person to announce the eliminations. How would we be eliminated? Each week, readers would vote on who is getting on their nerves the most.

Falen (Colorful Rants) is the drunk, bitter black chick. Every reality show has a bitter black woman. I think it's a requirement.  Anyway, she doesn't want to be bothered with anyone or anything. She hates being in the house, but she wants her beer and the couch.

Lynn (Thoughts of a Randomista) would be the resident flirt. Always speaking exactly what's on her mind no matter if it's appropriate or not. If it comes up, it comes out. This ideology also kick-starts most of the arguments amongst the house members.

Brandon (My Own Private Idaho) is the edgy one of the group. He always cracks the jokes that make everyone cringe. He's forever pushing the envelope with the ladies.

Sonia (LogAllot) is always full of advice, yet no one ever listens to her. Whenever the group is given an assignment, she takes the lead and spends the rest of the day trying to get everyone else to pay attention.

Michelle (Rantings of the Reckmonster) is always looking to froth (look the word up). She is volatile and is quick to swing on someone at the bar or in the club and have everyone in the group at the local police department for most of the night.

Michelle W (Mommy Confessions) just wants to go home. She hates being away from her family and spends all day talking about how much she regrets joining the show.

Alexandra (the Tsaritsa sez) is the free spirit. Whenever there's a group assignment, she's always straying away from the pack to take photos of herself or shopping for art.  She basically just enjoys the all-expense paid stay in a mansion and chooses not to contribute.

Me? I'm the cynical black guy! Duh!!! I'm the self-proclaimed know-it-all who thinks he can solve everyone's problem with sarcastic answers.  I just want everyone to get along although I'm secretly entertained by the drama.


With Bob hosting, we have eight contestants and four bedrooms. 
 How would you pair off the group to get the most volatile and interesting show?

Click below to start the first chapter of the most creative and craziest story ever told!
Squatlo Rant: The Real Blogger Shores Amazing Undercover Idol: Part I

I know you're staring at this post and wondering if I've officially lost my mind. I got through a lot of trouble just to feature a few bloggers that I like, huh? Check them out and click on all of their ads at least 25 times. It has so been ordered.

Blog Stalking 1.6.11

I want to take time to thank some of my fellow bloggers who entertain me with their contributions to the blog world. I try to show love for them by mentioning them in one of my posts every chance I get. However, I thought to myself, "Why not just spotlight them?"

And here is another installment of that! I present "Blog Stalking!" A phrase I started regurgitating after seeing Falen AKA Thundercat type it a few times.

Today, I present to you: "Time to Stop Being Wade Phillips" by Scott



The blog is simply titled "This Daddy's Blog" and this is my favorite post from it so far. Not just because I'm a Cowboys fan, but because it really makes a lot of sense. I like to use sports as an analogy since I think it's a microcosm of society, but Scott was dead-on with this one.

Please be sure to comment and let him know what you think! Especially you sports fans!

Blog Stalking 12.31.10

I want to take time to thank some of my fellow bloggers who entertain me with their contributions to the blog world. I try to show love for them by mentioning them in one of my posts every chance I get. However, I thought to myself, "Why not just spotlight them?"

And here is another installment of that! I present "Blog Stalking!" A phrase I started regurgitating after seeing Falen AKA Thundercat type it a few times.



Today, I present to you: "This Is What Famous People Do" by Annah

The blog is titled "Red Means Go" and this is my favorite post from her spot. This post is one of the first blogs I ever read and Annah is the first blogger I ever followed. Yes, she's my first.

When I become a billionaire blogger, I'm going to buy Annah her very own designated driver!

Be sure to comment and let her know what you think!