Newsworthy

The headline reads: "Kyle and Dom invite the whole world."



The article's in french, but I'm pretty sure you can understand what it's about. This is from a pretty big daily newspaper in Trois Rivieres Quebec. I think their circulation is 100 000ish. Not sure what the standing world record for slow news day is, but I'm sure it was just broken.

Louise Plante got her facts right. The whole world is invited to Kipling Sask this weekend. The whole world is invited to hang out at 503 Main. The whole world is invited to come hang out next to the eagle on our Corolla. And you'll be happy too, I washed all the bugs off yesterday.

You know that eagle/hawk bird sound that always happens when they show the overhead shot of the nuclear power plant on The Simposons? Yeah, if I knew how to type that sound, that's what I'd put here - Kyle

In da house

Rumors. Gotta love them. Pretty sure Alice Cooper won't be able to make it to Kipling this weekend though. A "pre-planned world tour" or something like that. That's what I get for trading with rock stars. But, I just found out that Leslie the "person who made the Alice Cooper trade possible" will be here, so that rules. Looks like almost nearly every "one red paperclip trader" will make it to Kipling, and rumor has it that "the" red paperclip will be in da house. Literally. And yes, that's about the only time I can say ever, in my entire life, say "in da house" without sounding like an absolute moron.

I just checked the Alice Cooper petition. 10953 signatures and going strong. If it hits 22222 signatures by New Years Day I will walk to the printing shop here in Kipling, print the entire thing out, stuff it in a backpack, and proceed to hitch-hike all the way to New York City where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame offices are located and deliver it in person.

And yes, you can quote me on that.

Da house is sweet, but after this weekend I'll be ready to do whatever it takes to get The Coop in da hall.

Rock Steady - Kyle

Web Camz

I thought I'd use the colloquial "z" instead of the more common "s" because I'm drinking Mountain Dew right now and feeling pretty extreme. Well, actually, I'm drinking Dew Fuel right now, so I'm actually surprized I'm still able to use the letter "s" at all.

The best thing about living on Main street means no worries finding your parking spot. You just wheel the shopping cart right back to your front door:



So that's gnarly.

But back to the task at hand, web camz. I'm not anywhere near techonogically advanced enough to set up web camz for this weekend, and Dom's far too busy doing other stuff to binge learn that sort of thing. You've seen the car we drive. I'm surprised we can actually tie our shoes. (we're wearing flip flops a lot lately, so...) Anyhow, I have a web cam, I just have no idea how to hook it up so it pumps out a live feed or something like that. Is there a website that does that sort of thing? If you have any hot tips, please share. Maybe the best idea is that people who come to Kipling for the big bash this weekend just upload their videos to youtube or pictures to flickr with the tag "saskatchefun" or something like that. Not exacly live, but potentially really awesome, and easier for a web hack like myself. Or maybe people can just mail CDs or DVDs of their pictures/videos to 503 Main and I can upload them as they come in. Anyone got any better ideas?

This weekend is going to be so awesome. People are tossing numbers anywhere from two to ten thousand around, but we really have no idea who's gonna show up. It's going to be a surprise. Surprises are fun.

K, I gotta go and buy a hose to wash the bugs off the eagle.

See ya shortly - Kyle.

one refurbed cube van

Refurbed is a word right? Come to Kipling this weekend to witness not only the sweet sounds of Club Treehouse, but also the reincarnation of the cube van, as seen here:

www.oneredcubevan.blogspot.com

Club Treehouse is also looking for gigs between Kipling Sask and Toronto. If you're on that trajectory, get a hold of Brendan and make it happen:
hone - 416 821 4628
email - clubtreehouse@gmail.com

More super-choice updates soon, we're in Kipling now - Kyle

Pinned

This is the hood of our car:


So that's the coolest thing ever. Our ride is offically pimped. Who needs DVD players, on-board wireless internet and 22-inch rims? Just give me a red paperclip toting eagle and I'm straight. Dom picked me up last night with a smile on her face and a camera in her hand. She had a surprise. Needless to say, I was pretty darn happy. Two years ago, I knew there was a reason I shopped around at every used auto parts place in Montreal but could only find a white hood. I just knew it. Big thanks to Vero and Myriam for making a dream come true. The talons are unbelievable. I dare you to try and pry the red paperclip out of it's clasp.

I also got a heaping load of 1 inch pins in the mail along with inflatable party sticks!


So that's what 2000 one inch buttons and party sticks looks like. If you're a 1 inch pin fanatic, then swing on over to pinned.ca and Colin Prentice will sort you out. Party sticks and a hood with red paperclip-toting eagle? Labour day weekend in Kipling is gonna rule so hard.

See ya soon - Kyle

Merch Madness

Thanks to everybody who entered the t-shirt contest, there's now so much more good Kipling / one red paperclip merch for everyone to sport!

Take this bumper sticker for example:


Simple. Easy to understand. Totally derived from something else. I Love Alberta Beef, I think you just met your match.

Speaking of simple and easy to understand, I just added this button to the site:



Just click on that big red button, then your favorite design, and some computer magic will do all the rest. Sporting has never been easier.

If you wanna guarantee your one red paperclip gear to sport for the big fest the Labor Day weekend, your best bet is to buy some from CafePress. I'm working on getting some shirts for the big event, but no guarantee that all the designs'll make it or they won't sell out early so make haste!

There were so many other amazing designs, but I'm not physically able to make them all available. (There's only so much uploading a guy can take.) But you can help! If you have one red paperclip or Kipling designs, upload them to a place like cafepress then send me the link and I'll let everybody know! As far as sporting is concerned, I think we can all agree: the more variety the better.

But wait, there's more! If I see you wearing one red paperclip gear, I'll give you a high five for free!

Have fun, and keep sporting - Kyle

Corbin is in Kipling 2

Corbin is in Kipling

Hamming it up for the local news in Saskatchewan. Gotta love it. He's in town to do the first round of auditions for Donna on Demand. The auditions are going on all weekend, but don't fret! This is just the first round of auditions for Kipling locals, just so there'll be room for everyone else to audition come Labor day. You can scope out more Corbin at 503 Main pics right here.

And this is offically awesome:



Yes, now that's some good merchandise sporting. The dog looks so happy. I can understand. Dogs love one red paperclip shirts. If you want to get in on this kind of t-shirt wearing fun, be sure to check out the one red paperclip merchandise up on cafepress.

So, that's the kind of picutre that just might entice me to say something along the lines of an album title from a early nineties rap group like the Dream Warriors. Yeah, something along the lines of "And Now The Legacy Begins."

Peace - Kyle

Saskatchewan's Bigggest Housewarming Party, Ever.

...will be held this Labor Day long weekend in Kipling Saskatchewan Canada. (Fri-Sun Sept 1,2,3)

map

Town of Kipling website

The "red paperclip" house is located at 503 Main Street. Open doors for the entire weekend. Everyone in the entire world is invited to drop on by!

What you need to know:

Accomodations
Camping, camping, and then, a little more camping:
If you want to guarantee that you stay in Kipling for the weekend, bring a tent, trailer or motorhome. To reserve a spot send your name, phone number, number of people, and date of arrival to saskatchewfun@yahoo.ca or call 306-736-8399 and leave a message with your details.

Couch/yard surfing:
The town of Kipling has a list of people who'll let you crash on their couch or pitch a tent in their yard. If you're up for that kind of thing, email saskatchewfun@yahoo.ca or call 306-736-8399.

Roof over your head:
The Kipling Motor Inn apparently has single rooms available, but I expect those to sell out in, oh, like five minutes ago. As for out of town accomodation, you can stay at Kenosee Lake Provincial Park (50 Kms / 30mi away). Phone number for the Kenosee Inn is 306-577-2099 and camping is available there as well. If you want a big city with all those fancy big city ammenties, you're looking at Regina, an hour and a half west of Kipling. (Please don't ask if you can stay at 503 Main Street. It's full. Like double full. Or even triple dog full. But you're more than invited to come swing by and hang out anytime!)

Costs
Wristband allows access to all activities for the weekend:
Adults (19+) $20
Youths (11-18) $10
Kids (10 and under) FREE

(All proceeds go towards Kipling's outlay to cover the cost of holding the event. Police/bands/services etc.)

Movie auditions
Auditions for Donna on Demand will be held Saturday Sept 2 from 2pm until 6pm. Fine print details: Wristband required to audition. The audition material is a short piece of material that leaves off midway and asks you to improvise the rest. Kids (<18yrs) cannot audition for Donna on Demand due to content, but there will be other auditions throughout fri-sun for further Public Media Works projects open to all ages. All 'auditioners' will be asked to make a donation to Kipling Parks and Rec as well. Auditions will be taped and are property of Public Media Works. On Saturday night the top 5 men and women will do a second, 'Pop Idol' style audition in front of a crowd. The big winner will be announced on Sunday.

Fun for all ages
Bouncy Castles
Hot air balloon
Main street "pedestrianized"
Corbin Bernsen Movies on outdoor screen (bring lawn chair or blanket!)
Labour Day Classic CFL game on big screen
+so much more!

Music
Brad Johner (Sun)
Butterfinger (Sat)
Jody Gnant (TBA)
Colin Pearson (TBA)
Club Treehouse (TBA)
Alex Runions (TBA)
+ much more!

Food
Local vendors will sell food on the streets and there are three restaurants in town. Kipling Motor Inn, The Den, and NG's. Sunday and Monday morning there will be a pancake breakfast. There are also three grocery stores in town.

Fluids
Beer gardens Fri/Sat/Sun. Don't worry Mary-Kate and Ashley, you'll be alright. Legal drinking age in Saskatchewan is 19.

Explosives
There will be fireworks. Big ones.

Merchandise
T-shirts from the t-shirt contest
Town of Kipling gear
+ so much more!
Local businesses in town will have oodles of good stuff for sale. And if you want to create one red paperclip stuff to sell over the weekend, you're more than welcome to bring your trusty wares to town. Just open up the back door of your van and hawk to your heart's content.

Other stuff
Kipling has all basic services. Banks, Post Office, restaurants (they might be a tad busy), grocery stores (ditto), bars (double ditto), gas station, hardware store, barber, internet cafe, Golf course, Antique home display, etc. It's all there.

What my mom wants you to bring
yourself
rain gear
warm clothing
A party hat (all parties are better with party hats.)

This is going to be the best housewarming party ever. Somebody better tip off "Webster" and let him know that he's gonna hafta update the definition of legendary for next year's dictionary.

See ya there - Kyle

T-Shirt Contest Winners

Click on your favorite design to buy!




Jen from J Goode Designs


From: samuel.frappier - at - gmail.com






From: www.myspace.com/whodrankthepaint


Congrats to all the winners, and thanks to everybody who submitted. I probably should've chosen the top 10, or 20. Woulda made it way easier. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with my choices, but that's okay. There were so many good submissions. If you really want to order another design, flip thru the 3 pages of designs (and counting) and let me know. I'll set it up so you can buy one thru cafepress or something. There will also be other designs in Kipling as well for the housewarming party Sept 2/3. And remember, you can always buy shirts and stuff with the original red paperclip design over at CafePress.


Have fun - Kyle

FAQ Q/A

First off, it's been far too long since we all checked out my mom's blog.

Okay, back to the task at hand. If you say the title to this blog post fast it sounds like you're swearing. If you're reading this blog out loud on your blackberry in class, and the teacher just got mad, simply show them the title. There. All fixed.

FCUK.

Okay, I just realized people are relentlessly asking me the same questions about ORP via email and I'm getting bored and just hammering out gradually-stupider answers to those same questions over time. So obviously my FAQ section isn't up to snuff. I'm also too lazy to create my own questions and then answer them. Besides, that would be creepy. Not like I'd ever do something like that or anything. Especially not back in October before anyone ever read this blog. And definitely not the sort of thing i'd do instead of doing the dishes and wind up making Dom upset, let down, and angry. Nope, not my character. I'd be a real sore piece of work to do something like that.

Now I'd love to tell you I came up with a great idea about how to fill out the FAQ section, but I didn't. I just stole it from Allan over at AreYouMyWife.com

If you have any questions about me/oneredpaperclip/life in general/the clothing brand FCUK, or anything else except the rapidly-growing sport of water skiing behind snowmobiles, please either ask me via a comment on this post, or email me at oneredpaperclip@gmail.com.

New, fresh and downright delicious Q's and A's will hit the FAQ section of this site as they arrive. And then we'll all be happy.

Well, except for the people that are offended by the word FCUK.

I know I am.

Have an enjoyable day - Kyle

PS - t-shirt contest winners announced tomorrow.

Two good things

1. It scares me to think what'll happen to Colin Pearson when Chuck Norris finds out about this: myspace.com/colinpearson - click on "We Love Chuck". Speakers up.

2. And just imagine what might've happened if I'd started with this.

have a snazzy weekend - Kyle

Garry Sowerby

You've probably never heard of Garry Sowerby before. Well, those days are over - you just have. Garry is a multi-world record holding long-distance driver. No, not the kind of long distance drives like John Daly, more like drives from Argentina to Alaska, or South Africa to Norway, or Around the whole dang planet. I first heard about him when I read the book Road Fever by Tim Cahill. A great book. Buy it if you think you'd enjoy reading a story of how two bearded men drove from Argentina to Alaska in 23 and a half days. In a Pickup. Anyhow, Garry was passing through Montreal yesterday on his way from Halifax to Ottawa and he dropped by our apartment. We made a trade: one red paperclip for a copy of his book, Sowerby's Road - Adventures of a Driven Mind. There's more than one story of bearded men making obscenely long, record-breaking drives, so there's really no reason why you wouldn't want to read his book. There's even really great pictures and stuff too. Thanks for dropping Garry, it was good to hang, if even for only a few minutes! You can read more about all the good stuff Garry Sowerby's been up to ever the years on his website, www.adventuredrive.ca. I think there's even a picture or two of him with a beard.

Like Colin Pearson and music, I drew a lot of inspiration from other people to get into writing in the first place, and Garry is one of those guys. I really like the idea of going out and doing stuff, then writing about it. Doing stuff is the best.

Here are some interesting blogs I've come across lately about people doing stuff:

Are You My Wife?
Watch My Loss
Have fun - Kyle

PS - Best email of the day:

Hi Kyle I'm Nathalie from south of France my children hate you because they are hungry, it's dinner time but I read all your blog, forgetting the meal sorry for my English, thank you very much. I feel happy with your story

Open-ended photoshop contest

Wow. This T-shirt design just arrived. Well after the deadline. Maybe I should just make the t-shirt design contest open ended. This is just too good. If you can create photoshop mayhem of this caliber, you're cordially invited to send it in. Anytime. My Flickr pictures are all public. Go to town on 'em.

Thanks Matt. I'm sure Corbin'll love it.

I'll announce the t-shirt contest winners soon. Yes, I know I'm taking too long to decide, but look what I'm dealing with here people!

Later - Kyle

The Dark Side

In order to stand out in a crowd, you need to either beat your chest louder than the rest, innovate, or take off all your clothes and trade them for booze. We all knew this was bound to happen. For a bunch of reasons, mostly to keep this blog accesible to younger readers, I'm glad I took the high road with one red paperclip. But I'm also more than happy to see someone emulate one red paperclip to create something they believe in. Whether you morally agree with it or not, I'm willing to bet that part of every single one of us is intriged by the idea of turning a stack of porn into potentially vast amounts of liquor. The fact that the press has started to line up doesn't surprise me one bit. I truly believe there's nothing better than old-fashioned straighforwardness and the desire to turn something you don't want into something you do want.

one red papercip now has it's Dark Side counterpart.

FAQs here.



enjoy - kyle

Mark Herrmann

Yes, he'll forever be the somewhat infamous chap who wound up with one afternoon with Alice Cooper for one KISS snow globe, but Mark Herrmann is a great guy. Since his trade he's had the good fortune to meet up with Alice and took some amazing pictures. They're really, really good.

Mark's Blog is here

And his photos are here

Feel free to contact him if you'd like to use the pics for your website/magazine etc. or if you'd like to hire Mark as a photographer. His email is redkiss197555(at)hotmail(dot)com

Oh, and in totally unrelated news:

A lot of people around the web like to brag about how they have a number one google result for their name, or industry, or what have you, but I really don't like to get into that stuff. But having said that, I am nonetheless extremely proud of this number one result.

Kyle

PS - how come nobody ever mentioned this before? Sorry poutine, I never thought it'd come to this, but I think you might have to hop in the back seat now. Or at least change your name to disco poutine.

T shirt contest ends at midnight tonight

..and let's say midnight Hawaii time...just to give the Hawaiians a fair shot at it.

See the current design submissions here, here, and here.

Details on the contest here.

Feel free to put comments on flickr or this blog post for your faves. I'll announce the five winners sometime in the next couple days.

I'll eventually add the designs to CafePress so you can buy them online through a link somewhat like this:



If you're not into t-shirts and such, perhaps you'll enjoy these french news clips:






Have fun - Kyle