Time for the next Burn It CD Swap. Sign-ups begin now and, as always, please be sure to read the rules carefully before signing up!

The Theme:
It's fall and that always makes me think of school, so this theme is all about music that makes you think of school days. It can be songs that came out while you were in school, songs that make you think of school (whether it was out at that time or not), or songs that make you feel like you're back in school.

Here's how it works:
After the sign up period, people will be put into groups of 4. You will then receive an e-mail from me telling you the names and addresses of the people in your group. You burn 5 identical CDs. Keep one for yourself and send the other three to the other people in your group and one to me. New Rule: Since so many people have been complaining that they haven't gotten CDs from people in their group, I am now requiring that you send one to me so I can keep track of who sent them out and who didn't. I hate to do this, but it seems the best way to keep track. You should then receive three new CDs from the other three people in your group.

The rules:
- You should have a blog. I would like this to be a fun way to connect people in the blogosphere. If you don't, go over to Diaryland or Blogspot and start one for free.
- If you're not going to follow through and make your CDs, please don't bother signing up. It would be a shame if one or two people ruined this for their group. If you signed up last swap and didn't send your CDs out, don't sign up this time.
- You must live in the US or Canada. If there's a intrest in this in other areas, I may do a swap at some point down the road that includes other countries, but since this is the first swap, I'm going to limit it to the areas where I know most of you guys live.
- If you live in the US, you should be willing to ship to Canada. If you live in Canada, you should be willing to ship to the US. The postage is a teeny bit more, but nothing that's going to break the bank.
- Remember that most people can't play mp3s in their car, so make sure they're something that will play in a standard car stereo. I tend to use .cda or .wav files. I have put together a list of Burn It resources for those not familiar with making CDs.
- Please be sure to put your name, URL, or e-mail on your CD somewhere. I got several last time that I liked, but have no idea who sent them.

Guidlines on creating your CDs:
- Include a track listing. If someone like an artist, they might want to buy more music by them. Let us know who it is.
- Fill up the CD as much as you can. There's 80 minutes on a blank CD. Don't half-ass it and make a 30 minute CD.
- You should definitely use a jewel case when sending your CDs to protect it during mailing. You can get them cheap anywhere.
- I know a lot of people are graphically inclined, so feel free to make your CD a work of art.
- Don't be afraid to put on "cheesy" music. If you like it, others probably will too.
- Don't be afraid to put on music that no one has ever heard before either. Billboard or MTV may never have known this music, but you did, so that's what counts.

If you've gotten this far and you still want to sign up, send an e-mail (change the AT to an @ in my e-mail address) to me and make sure you reference the swap in the subject line. You must include the following information (please send your info even if I already have it):

- Your name
- Mailing address
- Your blog URL
- Your e-mail address
- New requirement: If you want to be in one group or two

Sign-ups will continue through end of day Tuesday, November 2nd. By Thursday, November 4th, I will send e-mails to everyone letting you know who is in your group. You should have all of your CDs burned and in the mail NO LATER THAN Monday, November 29th. This gives you at least a full three weeks to create and ship CDs to your three group partners and me.

Please spread the word! More people equals more music! Just be sure to link to this URL, because eventually this entry will cycle off the main page. Also, feel free to swipe one of the buttons here and link it to the category page here.

If you have any other questions, you can e-mail me or leave a comment.

Special thanks goes out to Alison for both the inspiration and allowing me to use most of her rules and guidelines.

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Ciao! My bella! is currently offering a free redesign for anyone on Movable Type or Blogger/Blogspot that's interested. You have until October 31st to e-mail them, so I'd get on over there if I were you.

.: 36 words at 09:30 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Four Major League Baseball fans went rock climbing: a Yankee fan, a Red Sox fan, an Astros fan, and a Cardinals fan.

They had been arguing all the way up the mountain about who amongst them loved their team more and was the most diehard fan. The argument grew hotter and hotter and the four fans grew more and more agitated.

Such was the emotion that upon reaching the top of the mountain, the Yankee fan proclaimed loudly and earnestly to the other three, "This is for the New York Yankees!" and without a moment's hesitation threw himself off the mountain. The supreme sacrifice!

Not to be outdone by a Yankee fan, the Red Sox fan jumped up and cried out, "This is for the Boston Red Sox!" and quickly threw himself off the mountain, also willing to sacrifice himself to prove his devotion to his team.

Refusing to be outdone by the Yankee and Red Sox fans, the Astros fan rose to his feet, summoned up every ounce of his courage, and yelled at the top of his lungs, "This is for the Houston Astros!" and without a moment's hesitation, shoved the Cardinals fan off the mountain.

Go, Astros!

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