We hope we passed the audition (Photo by C.P. Storm) Today we take a moment to say goodbye. Since February of 2005, The Spark has (mostly) been here five days a week, bringing you -- our thousands of loyal readers -- the odd, the unusual, and the just plain interesting. But, as times change, so must The Spark. Now, we're not going away altogether; we're just changing our mission to help you better find the resources for the things you want to know about. Over the last five years, over fifty Yahoo!s, past and present, have offered their expertise to entertain and enlighten you. As part of our farewell, we asked some of those writers to stroll down memory lane and mention some of their favorite Sparks of years past. Mitzi: I'm partial to "Smile! You're on Candid Camera," because I used to love the show as a kid and it's kind of a forerunner of reality shows. "Burns Night" was my first crack at writing a poem for the Spark, and "The Cottingley Fairies" -- just because I love fairies. Amy: I enjoyed the hunt: Digging about on the Internet looking for quirky, engaging content about something of interest to me. There was always something new to be learned -- and usually a moment (moments) of incredulity. I got to write about things I legitimately cared about ("Wheelin' to Work") as well as things I just found flat-out amusing (and which allowed for a bit of childish humor), like "Happy __________ Month." What can I say? The Spark was fun, attracted a special (cool, radicular) group of people, and gave me a chance to get published by a major internet company. Not too shabby, eh? Liz G.: I've enjoyed writing about odd and obscure stuff. I never would have guessed I'd have an excuse to write about balloon animals, nudity, shaving, or even fertility in Russia -- for work! The Spark has also allowed me to champion causes, and to learn a thing or two. It's been a blast. Mike: As an original member of the "On the Web"/The Spark team, and the first and longtime "image editor," I have seen this little engine here, grow and change in every way. But the best thing about working on The Spark is that I developed some halfway decent writing skills. I produced a few pieces that I'm fairly fond of (and also had a blast researching and writing) such as: My "TV Themes" piece (not to mention its two sequels), Superhero Fashion, a "Big Lebowski" piece (as The Dude), My Favorite Christmas Things, even the Olsen Twins (which a fellow Spark writer never let me live down), and one of my early pieces, the wonderful Wilhelm Scream -- the sound that I will never forget or miss in a movie, as it now stands out like Keanu Reeves's bad acting. I have also enjoyed several of my colleagues' pieces as well, but I’d rather just talk about me. ;-) Heather S.: It's been a fun year and a half writing for The Spark. Although I've written about some rather unusual topics, my favorite article has to be the one about food porn. It might have been all those highly enticing photos of gourmet meals, or the fact that I was really hungry while I was writing it, but it was a great deal of fun to write. All hail The Spark! Michelle: The Spark let me (get paid to) research micronations, chest hair fashion, sleeveface, buzzards, and lolcats. I got to write about things near and dear to me, like procrastination, board games, accordions, roller skating, treasure hunts, swearing, and hating clowns. I spent a surprising amount of time writing about fruitcakes, pirates, Halloween, and crafts, and I got to stir up arguments about caffeine, waiting tables, and vegetarian Thanksgiving meals. I wrote and punctuated badly, using fake words, and sometimes in verse. Everyone should have this much fun at work! Goodbye, Spark, old buddy. Dave: There are probably too many pieces to mention. I was particularly fond of the Tarzan piece, the Spark written entirely in limerick form, and I was more than happy to recap my appearance on Jeopardy. I was always good for snark, and was really proud when I was accused of being un-American for slamming the odious Miley Cyrus, but I also took potshots at the "Batman" TV show, toy safety, and the whole town of Branson, Missouri. I could mention the Tunguska Event, the 1918 Flu Epidemic, failed assassins, the peccadilloes of Supreme Court justices, and the history of bananas, but I think I'll go with Godzilla and my salute to Vin Scully as my legacy pieces. So that's it. We are outta here. We'll be back soon with an all-new Spark, but the old order has changed. Speaking personally, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed over the last half-decade, the writers and editors (particularly Lisa, Heather, and Michelle), and also all the folks who (unknowingly) lent us links and images. We couldn't have done it without them. Most of all, I'd like to thank you, our loyal readers, for sticking with us and giving us the chance to share a few minutes of cool stuff with you every day. Suggested Sites... The Spark of Yahoo! - five years of bringing you things you didn't know you wanted to know about. The Spark Writers - the people who brought you The Spark. The Spark: "Clip Show" - the day we changed our name from "On the Web" to "The Spark." You Tube: "So Long, Farewell" - the Von Trapps say it all for us. You Tube: "I'll Be Seeing You" - ...but we'll be back!

Directory categories: Robert Burns, Public Nudity, Joel and Ethan Coen, Food and Drink, Vin Scully

Archived under: 1910s, 1950s, Accordions, Actors, Alex Trebek, Assassins, Balloons, Bananas, Batman, Blogs, Branson, Caffeine, Cats, Clowns, Coen Brothers, Crafts, Criminals, Death, Entertainment, Epidemics, Fairies, Fashion, Film Production, Filmmaking, Flu, Food and Drink, Fruitcake, Godzilla, Grammar, Hair, Halloween, Health, In Character, Jeopardy, Keanu Reeves, Limericks, Micronations, Miley Cyrus, Monsters and Creatures, Music, Mysteries, Mythology and Folklore, Nostalgia, Olsen Twins, Paranormal, Phobias, Pirates, Poetry, Roller Skating, Russia, Safety, Scotland, Secrets, Sleeveface, Sportscasters, Supreme Court, Swearing, TV, Tarzan, Thanksgiving, The Spark, Toys, Vegetarian, Vegetarianism, Vin Scully, Weird Stuff, Writers, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Directory

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The Olympic Flame -- rendered in snow (Photo by Tim Gillin) It's time to break out the axes and chisels: snow sculpture season has officially begun! I'm one of those people who considers it a major accomplishment if I'm able to somehow stack three balls of snow so that they vaguely resemble a snowman, so I'm in complete awe of what goes on at the world's various snow-carving events. Teams of snow sculptors flock from around the globe to snow-sculpting competitions and create some amazing and complex pieces -- with tragically short life spans. The most well-known of these events are Zehnders of Frankenmuth in Michigan and the Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado. But there are also smaller, local festivals, including the GCI Snow Sculpture Competition in Alaska, the Idaho Snow Sculpting Festival in McCall, Snow Days in Chicago, and the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition in Rockford. While Zehnders features ice carving as well, most of these local competitions seem to focus solely on snow sculpture. The size and artistry of these sculptures makes the competitions great family attractions and media events. And, as a bonus, there's generally an opportunity to see how these works of art are made, since they are, of necessity, built on-site. Of course, this shouldn't take all the fun out of making your own lowly snowman or other amateur snow art, nor should ambitious ice swans prevent anyone from having fun building with ice. So go out and play! Suggested Sites... The Ice Hotel - hotel in Lapland for people who reeeeally like ice. The Ten Thumbs Guide to Snow Sculpting - a snow sculptor explains his work. St. Paul Winter Carnival - one of the oldest winter carnivals in the world. Michigan Tech Winter Carnival - carrying on the snow statue tradition since 1922. National Ice Carving Association - note to amateur ice carvers: consult these folks before you pick up the chainsaw.

Directory categories: Ice and Snow Sculpture, Ice and Snow Sculpting Events, Ice Sculpting Supplies and Services, Winter Festivals, Winter

Archived under: Arts, Contests, Crafts, Design, Festivals, Ice, Outdoors, Recreation and Travel, Snow, Tourist Attractions, Winter

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"Merry Christmas!" Who wouldn't want to see this, and only this, under the tree? (Photo by Kirrily Robert) In honor of National Regifting Day last week, we've been asking our fellow Yahoo!s to tell us about the best and worst gifts they ever received. While some of them (hand-knit sweaters, earrings) were pretty cool, others (the knockoff dolls and perfume) were not so much. As we draw closer to the last-minute frenzy of the gift-buying and -giving seasons, we conclude our look at great and crappy presents with our final presents to you in the hopes that, as you shop, you stop and think before you take out your wallet. Adam: Age 15. After a few years playing a hand-me-down guitar, my folks got me a brand new one. I just passed the 20-year mark of playing that same guitar. There's something very cool and special about giving someone a musical instrument when the time is right. My rule: never sell a musical instrument. Always give it away to someone who will play it. Helene K.: For my 25th birthday (or maybe it was my 21st?), I got "The Book of Penises" from some "friends." I was very, very embarrassed when I opened it in the middle of a formal party and prayed that my mom wouldn't find it! So, yeah... that was the worst one. The best gift was my first bike. Mike: My most memorable -- and therefore, the "best" -- gift I ever received was when I was 11 years old. 1983. The slingshot-type game "Battleground: Crossbows and Catapults." I don't remember if there were actual rules to the game. My friend and I just loved to double/triple-wind up the rubber band on the crossbows and shoot that hockey puck-type disc at each other's castles. Or even better, we'd fire it up high with the catapult from the dining room to the family room. And it was just as much fun to build your castle as sturdy as you could so that it would take some serious rubber band windin' and crossbow/catapult flingin' to bring it down. My parents sure got their money's worth on that one, since I honestly think I played it far past the following Christmas. Dang, all this reminiscing makes me wanna play it again! Time to check eBay.... Liz: My best gift and worst gift are the same item. When I was a kid, some well-meaning family member always got me slipper socks, and I always hated them. As an adult, I now live in them and I hope to get slipper socks under the tree. Heather: The best Christmas gift I've received in recent years was a counted cross-stitch Christmas tree skirt. It took my mother over a year to make, and it's an heirloom I intend on passing along to my own children someday. My brother will be the last to get one. JoAnne: When I was in 4th grade, the class had a gift exchange. I ended up with the oddly-shaped box that everyone was curious about. I was so excited! I tore it open, and found I was the proud owner of a lime-green plastic tissue box cover. (That was the worst gift, in case you weren't sure.) My mom knit Christmas stockings for my three sisters and me to hang. As is often the case with the youngest child, by the time she got to mine, she had run out of both the fuzzy yarn for Santa's beard and the jingle bells. Sigh. The jingle bell issue was addressed later (possibly around the time of the lime green tissue box cover, come to think of it...), but wait, my parents weren't through with me yet. My stocking disappeared from their boxes of decorations. "It might have been in the box of junk I threw out when I was cleaning the garage." Although I was an adult by then, I was devastated, having reached the age when things family members made with love were incredibly dear. Many years later, as my parents, three sisters, three brothers-in-law, and their six kids opened their gifts, I opened mine. My stocking! My original stocking! I burst into tears of joy and ran from the room. As I fled down the hall, I heard someone say, "See? I told you she'd cry when she opened that." It was the best gift ever. Jessica J: Apparently, when my mom was asked one Christmas what I wanted for Christmas, she told all my relatives, "Buy her some dishtowels." And that was all I got. Dishtowels. Twelve sets of dishtowels. Suggested Sites... National Regifting Day - guide to regifting and office parties. I Love the 80s: Board Games - from "The A-Team" to "Uncle Wiggly." Making Christmas Tree Skirts - create your own heirloom. Christmas Stocking Patterns - make your own daughter (or son) cry. Vintage Towels - they're not just for drying anymore.

Directory categories: National Regifting Day, Guitars, Cycling Gear and Equipment, Board Games, Knitting and Crocheting

Archived under: Board Games, Books, Christmas, Crafts, Decorating, Footwear, Games, Guitars, Hanukkah, Holidays, Home and Garden, Knitting, Musical Instruments

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Well, at least it goes with the painting (Photo by Cathy, Sam, Max and Mai) Thursday was National Regifting Day, celebrating and encouraging recycling and reuse of old, unwanted, unloved, or otherwise extraneous gifts and presents. The occasion got us to wondering how common the practice is, anyway. Here in the Yahoo! Search Editorial department, we have an annual white elephant gift exchange, but those "presents" are usually (and intentionally) pretty lousy and we couldn't imagine our colleagues inflicting them on anyone they actually liked. Regardless, and (mostly) prepared for the answers, we asked our fellow Yahoo!s to tell us about the best and worst gifts they ever received. Dave: The best gift I ever got? Not even close. It's a plastic swing in the shape of a Heinz pickle. Bright green, about 18 inches long and six inches in diameter, it has "Heinz" stamped right into both sides of it, and chains on either end to hook it up to the playground set. The only drawback with it is, the plastic is so old and fragile that if anyone ever tried to use it for its intended purpose -- that is, to swing -- it'd probably shatter into a million pieces. So it remains strictly a display piece. Probably the worst gift I ever got was a "Cuban" cigar. I'm not really a cigar smoker (maybe one a year -- if that), but I was in Russia and thought, "Well, if I'm ever going to smoke a genuine Cuban cigar, this is the place to get it." An acquaintance got me one, and even as I lit it up, I knew something was wrong. Rather than a divine combination of fine Caribbean tobaccos, this one smelled -- and tasted -- like a combination of unwashed socks and damp cabbage. I fought my way through about half of it before throwing in the towel. Eugenia: The best gift I have ever received from my parents was a Big Mouth Billy Bass. Initially, I thought it was the worst gift ever, so I gave it away in a yard sale the following year. I wish I had kept it because now I know that it would have made me the most popular person at the Annual Yahoo! Search Editorial White Elephant Party. Ricky: My best gift was a Nintendo system with the red Zapper, Power Pad, and two (not one, but two!) controllers. Worst one I ever gave -- a "naked guys with balls magnet set." Suzi: I'm split on the best and worst I've ever received or gifted. But I'm entirely smitten with one white elephant I never managed to get: Octodog's Frankfurter Converter! Of course, I spend time every year perfecting my "Present Face" for those times when it comes in handy. Mitzi: Okay, the worst gift would have to be the year my sister and I desperately wanted Barbie dolls and got something called a Debbie Dunbar doll instead -- purchased from the Fuller Brush man (if you can remember that far back). I remember being perplexed and disappointed (never having heard of the doll) and trying my best to act happy. Best gift goes to the Creepy Crawler set (the old-school one that came with metal plates that you learned to never touch when they were heated). It was my "Santa pick" and I didn't think I had any chance of getting one. But I had a great time cooking up spiders and centipedes to put around the house -- and on my sister's bed. Sebastian: My first year of teaching, a freshman who was Italian (like me) was determined to make me a scarf. I insisted that she not do that, since I felt there were certain boundary issues. But in Italian culture -- and just about every other one -- teachers are considered to be almost a family member. After all, teachers do take care of one's children six to eight hours a day, and give them the tools to be adults. She demanded, in a very Italian fashion, to know what color I wanted, so I gave in. I chose burgundy, the unofficial color of my Venetian ancestors. I wear it to this day. There is nothing like the class of your first year of teaching; it's much like your first love, or your first year away from home. I'm glad I have a memento, and glad there's Facebook, so I can keep in touch with the Rascals from '06. Suggested Sites... National Regifting Day - guide to regifting and office parties. Five Ways to Fake Delight Over a Crummy Gift - just because you never know. How to Organize a White Elephant Gift Exchange - why keep all the crap you don't want when you can unload it on someone else? You Received a Lousy Gift, Now What? - it's gonna happen; you know it is. How to Receive a Lousy Gift Graciously - step 1: smile and say "thank you." It won't kill you.

Directory categories: National Regifting Day, Pickles, Cigars, Hot Dogs, Knitting and Crocheting

Archived under: Christmas, Crafts, Games, Hanukkah, Holidays, Homemade, Hot Dogs, Italy, Knitting, Nintendo, Shopping, Video Games

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Failed craft (Photo by Chauncey P. Graham) Anyone who makes crafts -- whether they're professional iPod cozy designers or amateur macrame owl enthusiasts -- knows that crafting takes trial and error. Crocheting homicidal vegetables or felting Jabba the Hutt miniatures takes skill and practice, and before you get that knitted digestive system to look just right, you're probably going to make some mistakes. But be warned: the Internet is not kind to ugly, misguided, or ineptly executed crafts. If you've got a thin skin when it comes to your homemade chicken poncho, perhaps it's best if you don't list it on etsy until you're sure you've got it right. Because crafters, while creative and wily and determined, can also be -- well, snarky. In the defense of sites like Regretsy and Homemade Hilarity, which poke fun at the bizarre, confused, and unintentionally hilarious crafts of the Internet, there are some terrible crafts out there (we know -- we've made some of them), and it's hard to resist making comments at their expense. Do we feel bad about it? Sure. Will that stop us from giggling madly at the crocheted beer can Darth Vader helmet or the toilet paper cover and/or hat? Not a chance. But it will stop us from posting our own, um, "awesome poop earrings" -- unless we decide to embrace our failures and share them for the education -- and hysterical, mocking laughter -- of others. Suggested Sites... Homemade Hilarity - giving misguided crafts the fond, snarky commentary they deserve. Regretsy - showcases the handmade gems that were never meant to see the light of day. CraftFail - crafters fess up to their own terrible works by sharing their crafts gone awry. Craftastrophe - proceed with caution.... Cake Wrecks - still makes us laugh after all these years.

Directory categories: Bad Crafts, Crafts, Crafts for Sale, Folk, Self-Taught, and Outsider Art, Bad Art

Archived under: Arts, Blogs, Cake Decorating, Crafts, DIY, Flops, Homemade, Humor

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