Posted by Tiff at 2:20 pm | Categorized under Blog, Contests
Mood » 
WEEEEEEEE!
Music » “My Heart is a Soldier” by The Juliana Theory
Novel » Dracula by Bram Stoker
Since so many of you enjoy this contest so much, it’s back! You can go ahead & blame my inadvertently lazy self for taking so long to reply to comments & using this contest as fodder for a blog. Rachel & I have actually made to-do lists that we both try our hardest to complete, but there are so many distractions such as frolicking around my house or my affixation with playing Top Chef. I refuse to let a game marketed to children beat me! 
When the level of my negligence decreases, I’ll add the updates I’ve done to the site at the bottom of this post. My indolence is due to….seeing my absolute favorite band tonight for their reunion tour: The Juliana Theory!
Before I forget, congratulations to Cristina of SecretCrash.info for winning the Site of the Month contest! A new one is running so feel free to join. 
A Letter to Anyone
Rules are still the same: you can post as many letters as you’d like! You do not have to write the person’s name, it can be anonymous (i.e. Dear hot neighbor). There will be 5 winners just like last time & they will be randomly chosen by my calculator using the random integer function. The more letters you write, the higher the probability you’ll win a full month of advertising & a plug. 
To submit your letters just leave me a comment. Each comment that is a letter counts as one entry. If you have written two letters in one comment, that will count as one entry.
Contests
Participate in the SOTM Contest
Participate in the Icon Contest
*Contest histories have been updated!
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Posted by Tiff at 10:33 am | Categorized under Blog, Contests, Quotes, Updates
Mood » 
Meh
Music » “Dandelion” by Nicole Richie
Novel » The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
I don’t know how many of you recognize who Richard Dawkins is, but if you’re an avid South Park fan, you’d guess he’s that famous Atheist guy that takes over the world with Mrs./Mr. Garrison. Although the book I am reading was written in 1976, he was recognized for his biological conclusions, theories, & not so much for being an outspoken individual. The Selfish Gene is not about religion, rather, it is about us.
One of my favorite excerpts from the book appealed to me in such a profound way that it will be forever engraved in my neurons.
“Be warned that if you wish, as I do, to build a society in which individuals cooperate generously and unselfishly towards a common good, you can expect little help from biological nature. Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs, something that no other species has ever aspired to.”
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect any of you to jump out of your seats & crown Dawkins as the most brilliant human being to breathe. His book encompasses its focus on the species of this Earth that are all irrevocably born with a “selfish gene”. Why would this be true? Simply enough, we are born selfish to ensure our species’ survival, yet many species are altruistic.
So why aren’t we born with an altruistic gene? With so many things going on in the world such as famine & genocide, people will steal & take advantage of one another in order to survive. However, we are the only species on this planet that have the ability to consciously “upset our design” by helping others even if we won’t benefit from it.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe that we are born selfish; it doesn’t even matter if you abhor Richard Dawkins. Instead of fighting one another, stealing, cheating, & being selfish in order to better your life, give back. Let us all take into account that we are not the only ones on this planet & help one another. After all, we share this world with 7 billion others & the other countless inhabitants.
None of us may really know why we are here, but who cares? Make it your purpose to make this world a better place to live in. I make it my purpose to go out of my way to help others & change someone’s life. I could win a billion dollars, but my life would not be complete until I can dramatically alter someone’s circumstances for the better. I hope that some of you will join me & attempt to do something altruistic. Take baby steps such as helping your parents make dinner, make them dinner, donate the change in your wallet to a charity, tutor someone for free, & so on.
That quote alone has inspired me to reach out in hopes that others will be inspired to fight their DNA in order to share this world, not destroy one another.
Contests
Vote for the SOTM! Voting ends August 21st!
New Icon Contest
Plugs
Posted by Tiff at 1:11 am | Categorized under Contests, Updates
Mood » 
Alien
Music » “The City We Live In” by Jonezetta
Novel » The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
For once, I’m actually announcing the winners of the icon contest on time. Everyone did a great job! Cupcakes are pretty easy to work with so we shall see what else I will come up with for the next icon contest. I’ll update everyone on that with my next post. Thanks for participating & voting everyone! I have lots to update on the site, but the Reviews section has been migrated to this site for ease. Yay! VOTE FOR THE SOTM!
Winners
First Place | Zoe
Second Place | Lucy
Third Place | Brittney
Plugs
Posted by Tiff at 1:21 am | Categorized under Actions, Blog, Photography, Textures, Updates
Mood » 
Content
Music » “Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)” by Marilyn Manson
Novel » The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
 Tuna Sushi |
Yes, I like raw fish. No, not all sushi is raw. The place I went to enjoy this was not all that great, but it looked artsy, didn’t it? Happy birthday to Nicole! She turns 17 today. 
I told Kat that I would help her advertise her new awards site. Please participate in this contest & nominate some of your favorite sites under some categories she has such as “Awesome Layouts”, “Interesting Blogs”, “Best Resources”, & more!
ALSO, please help Faye raise money for her NSPCC event in which she will go skydiving! NSPCC is a group that raises money to stop child abuse. Help her by donating whatever money you can & $4 will get you a spot on her footer for 3 months. Help stop child abuse by clicking this link & donate!
This past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me with its ups & downs, so please excuse me for not writing a more profound blog. Sometimes you just need a break from your emotions & it’s quite difficult to when your judgment is clouded by irrational thought. Finding clarity is much more difficult than hurling your anger at someone. There are days when I wish life were as easy as force quit & backspace, but if you don’t make mistakes, if you don’t fall, how will you truly experience happiness if you do not know what it is to suffer?
Updates
SOTM Voting has started!
Vote for the best icon!
3 Textures
2 Actions
****FINALLY INTEGRATED THE REVIEWS! You can apply for one here!****
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Posted by Tiff at 2:44 am | Categorized under Blog, Contests
Mood » Meh
Music » “In A Glade” by Milla
Novel » The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The first time Johnathan came over to my house to study, I made taquitos & salsa. Over our mini-break, he asked me if I knew what my personality type was. I told him I didn’t so he proceeded to ask me a series of questions. He concluded that we’d get along just fine. This was before we started dating. 
A few days ago my ex-tutor, Cau, discussed the topic of personality types indicated by the Myers-Briggs Test. Up until now, I have never thought much of Johnathan’s diagnostic for my personality type mostly because I didn’t know what it meant. 
When I took the test, Cau showed me a website that explained to me my personality. I discovered that I’m an INFJ, one of the rarest personality types. I disclosed some rather personal issues to Cau who is practically a stranger to me, yet I intuitively felt that talking to someone several years my senior would bring a new perspective to my situation. He’s a bit of a Renaissance man & I knew his insights would be enlightening. Little did I know we’d have so much in common! 
After a bit of digging around, I ascertained that his personality type, INFP, serves an advisor to mine.
Upon reading the description of my personality type, I was incredibly shocked how it was nearly 100% accurate. I have struggled greatly in the past with my own personality that loving myself was not an option. In the past, I had disclosed some of my faults with someone I trusted. When I sought comfort, I was greeted with condescending shouting. 
I couldn’t believe I opened up myself to someone only to have them spit it back at me with disgust. 
It made me abhor myself & I began to cry myself into oblivion. Instead of receiving advice, I was verbally poked at as they pointed out all of my flaws.
It was only until yesterday that I’ve learned to embrace myself & all of my strengths. 
I tend to believe that my flaws are more apparent, but Cau pointed out that my strengths make me beautiful. 
I don’t know if I’ve ever considered my personality to be “beautiful” before; not because I’m a horrible person, but because I haven’t done anything to change the world we live in. I’ve never thought of myself as someone who’s fascinating or unique.
Reading about me, myself, & I has been illuminating. I’ve developed a new respect for my strengths such as my skills in expressing myself through writing, counseling, empathy, compassion, altruism, foresight through my intuitions, & the ability to see situations in multiple perspectives. With all strengths come weaknesses including my stubbornness & my quickness to judge. Just as indicated by my type, I can easily see through people & I don’t waste my energy on those that I deem as unscrupulous. I am not perfect, but I hope to very much strengthen my weaknesses.
With all of this being said, I hope that you as a reader will find your own strengths to love & weaknesses to improve. Changing your personality is next to impossible, but I know that if you are willing to improve your flaws, you can. After all, my personality type is said to be psychic! 
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Vote for the best icon
JOIN the SOTM contest
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