The Big Wicked Online Pageant

A couple of years ago, this blog circle participated in quite the entertaining online event: The Little Miss Sunshine Online Pageant. Participants posted a grade-school photo, and Dale and I linked to those posts on our blogs. The contest was a smash, with about thirty folks posting their lovely piccies, and people from far and wide clicked their way across our blogworld. It was a hoot seeing who was a third-grade hottie and who was fourth-grade nottie.

I was a nottie.

Some of us discovered new blogs to read, so it was well worth the time to dig through the boxes in mama’s attic. But we haven’t done anything fun like that since 2006.

That is, not until Bubs over at Sprawling Ramshackle Compound put on his cocktailing thinking cap. He contacted Dale and me with a great idea: posting our favorite Halloween costume photos. Ideally, these would be photos from your childhood — but we’re easy. We’re talking the ultimate in tricks and treats!

Rules for The Big Wicked Online Pageant

• Scan a photo from your Halloween past.

• Post it on your blog Monday evening, October 28.

• Once you post your photo, e-mail me at the address on the navbar. If you can, include the URL to that specific post.

• I’ll post a link to every participant’s blog Tuesday morning by 9 a.m.

So start digging through your archives. Warm up the scanner. Get ready to don your best Halloween masks!

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Who Needs Miss America?

Our Little Miss Sunshine Online Pageant was a grand success, with nearly thirty participants and many more readers. Thanks to Dale, Coaster Punchman, and Old Lady and their mockery, idea, and plugs, we pulled it off and entertained our little blog world for a couple of days. Although Just a Cool Cat (with his lovely, flowing mullet locks) thinks we played it safe with cute photos (um, hello, did you see my Coke-bottle glasses and knock-knees?), many of us brilliantly embarrassed ourselves, to the awwww of others.

I think sKincarver, PinkFluffySlippers, and I need to get together and breed a mutant race of four-eyed, large-collared geeks. Our offspring will set the bar for nerdiness in the early years, coolness and simmering resentment in the later years.

Now, get back online and read the blogs you may not have visited until the contest. They’re all damn good.

My Tuesday soundtrack column will appear later today so that I can keep the pageant front and center a little longer.

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I Was Little Miss Sunshine

That’s me, front and center in my fourth-grade class photo.


Notice that pose, that flirty sideway glance. You’re probably thinking I’m voguing, working that fabulous ensemble of every possible shade of green and flashy gold hair ribbon. But you’re wrong. As a four-eyed child of the sixties, I had to look off to the side so my glasses wouldn’t cause a glare on the photo. And that year I was the only kid in the class posing the nerd turn.

I’d actually wear that outfit today; Mama always had style and knew how to shop for me. And the reading glasses I’m wearing right now look scarily close to those cat-eyes I’m sporting in the photo.

Yes, I was one hot little minx when I was nine.

p.s. That's gospel great Kelly Nelon next to me, in the red dress.

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The Little Miss Sunshine Online Pageant Is Here!

Here they are — our Little Miss Sunshine contestants — and they're adorable! I have some schoolgirl crushes brewing here ...

Barbara at looking2live *

Ben at Ben’s Treasure Trove *

Beth at Cup of Coffey *

Bluez at Lame Stuff *

Bubs at Sprawling Ramshackle Compound *

Coaster Punchman’s World *

Creepy at Church of the Lost Souls *

Dale at Passion of the Dale *

Dan at All Things Dan *

Dystopia at Rantings of a Mad Seamstress *

Haahnster’s Hallucinations *

Jacob’s Mom at My life and You're Welcome to It! *

James at Heavy: Lift with Caution **

Jeremy at Str8jacket *

Johnny at It’s a Pug’s Life *

Just a Cool Cat ... with a mullet! **

Katy at Okay, Fine! Whatever?!?!? *

Land-o-Lulu *

Marni at It’s a Pug’s Life *

Mellowlee at Mellow-Like-Jello *

Mizbubs at Sprawling Ramshackle Compound *

Mother of Intention at Spilling Out! *

The Official Site of Grant Miller *

Old Lady at Eclectic Tales **

PinkFluffySlippers at Cello, Et Cetera *

Scrivener at Scrivenings *

sKincarver at Creeping Darkness *

Tanya Espanya at Blog Worm *

Tenacious S



** Brand-new posts!

* Posted

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The Little Miss Sunshine Online Pageant

Dale’s comparing me to Little Miss Sunshine’s Olive and my subsequent posting of my fourth-grade photo caused quite the buzz among our circle of bloggers. Therefore, we’ve decided to host the first annual Little Miss Sunshine Online Pageant.

The Rules

• Scan a photo from your grammar-school days.

• Post it on your blog Sunday morning, October 1.

• If you plan to participate, leave a comment to this post.

• I’ll post a link to your blog on Little Miss Sunshine Sunday.


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UPDATE: I'll post the links very early Sunday morning. I have links for everyone who left a comment. If you want to play, leave a comment or send me an e-mail (address on the navigation bar).

A Pickled Olive

Had a few minutes to kill this afternoon, so I slipped away to the wildly entertaining Coaster Punchman’s World, a virtual place where I can relax and giggle and vicariously live the hip Manhattan lifestyle. Mr. Punchman had earlier posted a nice piece about Little Miss Sunshine, and I was eager to read his response to my witty retort. Imagine my surprise when I found that Dale had (no doubt lovingly) suggested that the photo of the adorable Olive character was instead a shot of moi. Well, I’m here to prove Dale … um, damn near right.

Here’s a movie still of the Olive character:

And here’s my fourth-grade photo:


Good Lord. The nine-year-old Cup is the real-life embodiment of this year’s celluloid nerd. I’m off to drown my sorrows in Kool-Aid and Absolut.

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