Watching The View

Thanks to all of your support and votes, Watching the View has won Project Blog! Thanks to Mark and all the other contestants on a hard fought race and a great competition.

To all of my readers, I truly could not have done this without all of you. It was your loyal voting that kept me in the competition week after week and your votes that helped push me to victory in the finale. I really appreciate each and every one of you!

You can now vote for who you think should win Project Blog! It is down to me and Mark from Get Incensed.

Here are our entries:

Winnie
Mark

You can vote once per 24 hours between now February 20th. Vote below or head to BCS Frenzy where you you can win $40 for commenting!

Who should win Project Blog?
	Mark
	Winnie
pollcode.com free polls

For the final time, here is the prize pack that we are playing for:

An autographed picture of Jackie Warner, courtesy of Sky Sport and Spa

A pair of shoes from the newest line from Jonathan Kayne

A Soffe college hoodie, courtesy of me, BCS Frenzy!

Gold-plated earrings from Aurora at Between My Sheets

A pet portrait, courtesy of Intricate Art

A set of bud vases from Top Design’s Jonathan Adler

The finale of Project Blog is here! If you recall, I was tasked, along with co-finalist Mark from Get Incensed to create a “sneeze page,” which is essentially the best of Watching the View. Feel free to check out my entry here and see a one-stop shop of all of the most popular posts from this blog, as well as a few other surprises.

The voting for the finale is set to open this afternoon, so check back here for the link. Thanks again for all your support during this contest! Also, don’t forget that you still have a chance to win the $40 reader prize from BCS Frenzy.

Allison, the mastermind behind Project Blog has just announced an exciting prize for the readers. One lucky commenter will win $40 in cash! If you don’t win that, there are two runner-up prizes, one of which is a View mug! (It is the red one from last fall featured here). Also, if you comment at her blog that you are cheering for me, I will get extra points!

Here are the contest details:

That’s right - one of you reading this right now will have $40 in your pocket by the end of the month. SWEET. Well…not QUITE in your pocket - you must be able to accept the money either via PayPal or via an Amazon gift certificate

All you have to do to win the cash is leave a comment (at this entry at BCS Frenzy) telling me that you want it! Tell me what you’d do with the money, tell me why you need the money, tell me why you’re the best shopper in the world - I don’t care *what* you say, as long as you tell me that you want the big prize!

Following Project Blog? I’ve got something extra for you too! Seems are though our two finalists, Winnie and Mark are both chipping in to donate a prize to two lucky runner-ups for the cash contest. So, you can also win your choice of a Watching the View Mug or Mark’s book The Sky is Falling: A Global Warming Survival Guide. Heck, I know ya’ll want the money, but those second and third place prizes aren’t bad either! And, if you mention it in your comment that you’re cheering for either Winnie or Mark, they will get an addition read vote tallied onto their score! It’s like a pre-vote for your favorite, so show your support! (emphasis added)

And that’s not all. If you comment here and then comment on ANY OTHER post on this website - I’ll give you up to FIVE ADDITION entries for the big prize (five comments = five entries). Then, if you BLOG about this contest and leave the link in the comments section of this post, you’ll get yet ANOTHER entry. So that means there are seven changes to win in total! Note, that you must comment on this entry first and your other comments must be legitimate. Any that just say “cool post” or “I want to win the money” on other blog posts will be deleted!

So, to sum it up:

1. Comment on this post to win the money. You can leave a comment about anything.

2. If you mention your favorite Project Blog contestant, they’ll get an addition vote for the finally.

3. Comment on up to five other posts on this blog (using the same name), and you’ll get five additional entries to win the money.

4. Blog about this contest for an additional entry.

BUT YOU HAVE TO HURRY! This contest will only run through February 20, 2008 at noon. Enter NOW to win!

We have made it into the finale of Project Blog! And I say “we” because I could not have gotten here without all of your votes and support.

I will be going up against Mark of Get Incensed.

Here are the details of the final project, which is due one week from today:

For the final challenge, players will have to make a “sneeze page” using a free Blogger blog. They don’t have to create an entire blog, but they ARE responsible for design and layout! The sneeze page will link to their best blog posts, so essentially, we’re getting a “best of the best” webpage devoted to their blog. Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!

Contestants will have ONE WEEK to create their sneeze page style Blogger blog. So, I’ll need their links by Friday, February 15 at noon! Voting will NOT open until then, even if the contestants send in their links early, but it will remain open until Wednesday, February 20 at noon. Whoever lands higher in the reader voting will get THREE points added to their final score. Good luck bloggers!

I have already gotten started on the project, but thought that I should get some input from all of you. What do you consider to be your favorite posts on Watching the View?

Although you may watch The View and think that you have nothing in common with newest co-host Sherri Shepherd because of her academic blunders or her religious upbringing, based on my interview with her, I have developed this list of things that you probably do have in common with her.

1. Your family is the most important thing in your life.
Sherri makes no secret that her number one priority is her son Jeffrey. She is trying to win custody of her two-year-old following her divorce. Complicating the issue is that her son has health issues that make living in the cold winter climate of New York difficult. Her love her son was evident throughout our conversation and it is clear that she makes all of her career decisions with Jeffrey in the forefront, frequently expressing the importance of making (and saving) money to care for her son. When she learned that she was diagnosed with diabetes, she knew she had to get healthy for her son.

2. You care about the upcoming election.
Although she admitted on The View that she has never voted before, Sherri is trying to learn as much as she can about the political process because she now recognizes the importance of this election. She is trying to decide which candidate to vote for that will be the best for the country and her family.
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Project Blog is back after a short hiatus. Here is the information on this week’s prize. Go here if you want to enter to win.

It’s that time again - time to announce the Project Blog Week Nine prize for contestants and readers! In the dark about what Project Blog is all about? Basically, it is a competition for bloggers, where readers get to have a say in the winner. You can read more here. Last week we gave away copies of some great books, courtesy of Humor-Blogs. This week, we have some new incredible sponsors puttin’ up the goods.

Week Eight’s Sponsor: Stress Less

Week Eight’s Prizes:

And that’s not all! I’m sweetening the pot a little and throwing in ANOTHER prize - The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook. (I thought it was appropriate, given that this week’s prizes are all stress-busters!)

That means two lucky winners and the blogger of the week are all getting prizes! Woo hoo! How can you enter? Simple - just tell us what stresses you out most, and then head to the Stress Less website and give us a product link to what you’d like to buy to relieve that stress. So, your comment might look like the following,

“I’m most stressed out by problems in my love life. I could sure use a copy of the Lover’s Massage Healing Touch Video.”

Sherri Shepherd’s dad was in the audience of The View today. She said that he is really loud, funny, and crazy, and that is where she gets her sense of humor. Her step-mom and sister were also there. Sherri said that he calls her and tells her he saw the show when they talk about sex.

Joy Behar read an article about how a woman’s age and how old she looks will influence whether she gets a job interview. She said that ageism is mixed in with sexism. Elisabeth said that a younger person may garner a lower salary which may come into factor in hiring. Whoopi said that she is not buying into the theory that older woman are not needed. Joy said that you have to be armed with the information about the possibility.

Joy said that older men get younger women in the movies and in real life. Whoopi said that you would think that they would realize that they have nothing to talk about.

John McCain and Mitt Romney are getting into fights now. McCain said “Never get in wrestling match with a pig,” possibly referring to Romney. Elisabeth said that McCain is never one to hold back and the candidates are all trying so hard to get the nomination. One of Huckabee’s campaign people said that he wants to knock Romney’s teeth out because he can’t stand him. Elisabeth said that it is funny that Joy is saying that McCain and Romney hate each other, but the other day, the argument between Barack and Hillary was just them playing the political game.
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Project Blog is getting down toward the end of the competition, with only four bloggers left! I really need your votes this week to ensure I make it into the finale! Head here to vote.

Here are all the contestants:

1. Kate, Babylune: (Link removed at blogger’s request)
2. Winnie, Watching the View: “Dear Nancy Grace”
3. Sally, Style Fix: “Dear Designers: Please Impress Me”
4. Mark, Get Incensed: “This is Why You’re Not Hot”

Dear Nancy Grace,

That was a clever stunt that you pulled on The View today, showing that adorable picture of your twins and tearing up talking about them. It made me (gasp!) like you a little.

However, when you started talking about current legal cases in the news, I saw the other side of you start to ooze out. Had the segment been just a bit longer, I am sure that you would have been back to full blown Mean Nancy Grace.

You know that we have had our differences over the years, me having to remind you about that piece of paper called “The Constitution” and that little thing called “The Due Process Clause,” while you continue to shout to the rafters how everyone is guilty guilty guilty, even though there has not even been a trial. I realize that the is the prosecutor coming out in you and, well, maybe you can’t help it.

The prosecutorial sentiment of “guilty verdict at all costs” seems to be something that you cannot shake. I know that you feel that if there is a good enough chance that someone you have your eye on is guilty, that you might as well not leave room for the possibility that they aren’t. I won’t even try to explain to you the concept that all people deserve a fair trial, because obviously you didn’t get it when the Supreme Court of Georgia spelled it out for you after you committed prosecutorial misconduct.
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Thanks to everyone who voted for me in week seven of Project Blog as your votes helped keep me in the competition! My cat says “Thanks,” too! Mark was this week’s overall winner.

Here is the prize information for week eight:

Week Eight’s Sponsor: The Humor-Blogs Network

Week Eight’s Prizes:

• Crummy Church Signs: Volume One by Joel Bezaire of Crummy Church Signs 
  • From the only website currently in the Top 10 of both a Humor Blog ranking and a Religion Blog ranking comes Crummy Church Signs Volume 1 (2004-2007). See what happens when a snarky Christian gets fed up with bad grammar and spelling, poor theology, inane attempts at humor, and outdated pop culture references. With submissions from 36 states and 10 different countries, see why this hilarious blog has become an internet hit with this “best of” collection.

• Antisocial Commentary: From the Secret Files of the Mattress Police by Rob (Diesel) Kroese of The Mattress Police
  • This book is a hilarious excursion through the mind of Rob Kroese, aka “Diesel,” the twisted mastermind behind the humor website MattressPolice.com. From topics as varied as James Blunt and The Incredible Hulk to global politics and perpetual motion machines, Antisocial Commentary is a tour de force of satire, sarcasm and just plain silliness.

The reader who wins this week will have their choice of book, and the blogger who wins this week will get the other one - prizes for all, yippee!

How can you enter? Simple - just leave a comment at BCS Frenzy telling Allison which book you would pick if you win the prize! That’s it! If you want to learn a bit more about the books, head over to the Humor-Blogs Store, where you can purchase both books, and more!

I thought that I would elaborate a little on what I wrote yesterday about not being motivated to blog about The View unless I am watching it live. To further explain my mentality, I thought that I would give my readers some insight into how I go about doing the recaps each day.

Most days of the week I am blessed with the opportunity to do my office job from home. The catch is that I have to put in the full eight hour day, with one hour off for lunch. I am very diligent and work hard to get all of my work completed each day. I schedule my lunch hour to fall within the hour that The View airs.

I watch the show live and type the recap as it it happens, using the commercial breaks to proofread, edit, and find links to things that they talked about that might be of interest to the readers. Although I do TiVo the show as well, the TiVo is on the television in the other room and I don’t go back and rewind any of the show, unless there is a crucial comment that I want to get right. The last thing I need is to misquote something and start a raging debate in the comments section thanks to my error.

On days that I do have to go into the office, however, I have no choice but to watch the recorded version of the show. The main problem with that is that I constantly pause the show and rewind to get every detail, making the process much longer than an hour, which is difficult when I am already exhausted from a full day at work.

When I blog it live, I catch the major points and don’t worry about getting every comment or joke. I simply do my best to present the overall tone and content of each hot topic, as well as the hosts’ different viewpoints. A lot of the jokes by the three comedians don’t get blogged because, well, they just don’t read as funny.

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As a new year is set to begin for The View on Monday, I was thinking about what this year will hold for the show. Will it be more of the same? Will they try to spice things up? Although I don’t know what they have in store for us, I am pretty sure that we won’t be seeing any of the following this year on The View:

1. Whoopi Goldberg this happy during an interview segment:

Runners up: Whoopi looking completely awake for an entire episode. Whoopi going an entire week without looking at Sherri Shepherd in shock and disbelief.

2. Barbara Walters encouraging discussion about the war in Iraq or serious other world issues.

Runners up: Barbara going a whole week without self-promotion. Barbara going a whole day without talking about her famous friends.
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Today’s recap won’t be up until later tonight, but feel free to leave your thoughts on the episode in the comment section.

Also, they extended the voting on this week’s Project Blog until noon today (Eastern time), so stop over and vote if you have time this morning.

Thanks!

I am not one to do New Year’s resolutions. When I was in the seventh grade, we had to do resolutions as a writing assignment. All I remember including is “Not worry so much.” Honestly I could put that same “resolution” every year and it will not do much good. I am a worrier; that’s just who I am.

While I am not a fan of once-a-year resolutions, I am a goal-oriented person. I often need goals to keep me motivated. For example, if I don’t have a particular event I am training for, I find myself running a lot less. Give me a training schedule, though, and I am out on the path every day.

With that in mind, spurred on by this week’s Project Blog, I decided to think of what my ultimate goal should be for 2008. Since I want to dream big, my goal for 2008 is…to be a guest host on The View!

Yes, I realize that it will most likely never happen, but please indulge me this fantasy of how the day would go:

*********
Whoopi Goldberg will be in her moderator spot, then Joy Behar, then me. Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck will be to my left. We will start the hot topics segment with me explaining about my website and that not all blogging is mean and snarky. (I get the impression that Joy and Whoopi only think of gossip type sites when they mention blogging).

We will then have a wonderful hot topics segment where I am insightful, intelligent and poised. (Ha! Who am I kidding? Just imagining it in my head is making me nervous. I will be lucky if I don’t clam up completely!). I may go toe-to-toe with Elisabeth about a political issue or maybe debate religion with Sherri. Oh, and I will be funny! Can’t forget that. I won’t be slinging one-liners, but my wit will be obvious to all within earshot.
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