How Embarassing

I - apparently - do not yet have a sponsor in the Port Aransas SandFest this year. How can this be?!?

My sponsor of many years - Port Aransas Reality - is having a bad year, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

Surely someone has $750 and a big banner touting - something/anything! - that they can hang in front of the very cool and eye-catching (and possibly though not likely, winning) sand sculpture that I fully intend to build in Port Aransas in April of 2009.

As an added bonus, I will throw in a FREE Beachbillboard just to sweeten the pot a little...

C'mon! Don't hold back! Show the feets a little love and sponsor me in Port A already!

Sponsor Info
Photos of sculptures I have built in past Sandfests and elsewhere

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letter to the editor of the Valley Morning Star

Dear Sir:

Does anyone even LOOK at the Rio Living page before it goes to press? Did you really fail to see the disconnect (2/25/09) between your rant against “sexting” (the latest teen trend of objectifying their body parts by texting them around) and - RIGHT NEXT TO IT! - the “Body of Work” piece featuring - among other things - close-up shots of Pamela Anderson’s “artificially enhanced” breasts and Gisele Bundchen’s abdomen? Choosing to prominently feature an article that falls over backwards objectifying women’s body parts - we don’t even get to see the rest of the body that goes with those breasts - was tasteless and irresponsible. A new study makes clear the relationship between lurid photos and effects they have on males:

“Past studies have also shown that when men view images of highly sexualized women, and then interact with a woman in a separate setting, they are more likely to have sexual words on their minds, she said. They are also more likely to remember the woman's physical appearance, and sit closer to her -- for instance, at a job interview.” (Read CNN article at http://bit.ly/5w6Pd)

No wonder kids are doing this stuff - their local paper is blatantly telling them that their body parts are nothing but commodities.

For shame, VMS. For shame.

Sincerely,
Lucinda Wierenga

My first aerial beach billboard!

Thanks to Dad Feets and Re Boer for helping and islandeventphotos.com for shooting!

Welcome to Paragraphs on Padre!

We have a new bookstore and I am soooo happy!

Owner Joni let a few of us help her stock the shelves last night and it was an amazing experience. I worked the non-fiction stacks -- started off in History, slid over to Bio/Autobiography -- detoured through SciFi before crashing into Philosophy, Poli-Sci, Self-Help and Religion. Made a quick dash through True Crime, Childcare and Sports before winding down with Decorating and Gardening.

(Was mystified as to why the copies of my sandcastle how-to book turned up on back order -- maybe something to do with the paperback version that is coming out this spring?)

Maybe like me you wondered about the wisdom of opening up an independent book store in these Amazon.com days -- but last night drove home to me all over again how much more pleasurable it is to shop for books in a place where you can pick them up, thumb through the pages, read the jackets and not be afraid to let your eye wander to another cover on the same shelf...



I've missed that. And didn't even know it until last night.

I think Paragraphs is going to be a huge asset to the Island. I see new bookclubs forming. I see visitors looking for just the right beach-reading material or something to keep a cranky kid quiet sighing with happiness when they see all the options. I see locals fixing to climb on a long flight to Madrid stopping in on their way to the airport, looking for something that will melt away the hours.

I see something that will improve our community -- and I encourage everyone to stop by and remember what it was you loved about real bookstores.

Update: Visit Paragraphs at paragraphsbooks.com

Command Performance of the Unlitter Song - tomorrow!

Here's the Press Release from Shane Wilson Himself!:

Kamp Grounds of America (KOA) is trying to set another record with this year’s KOA Word’s Largest Surf Fishing Tournament and Beach Clean-up. For the last two years KOA and Fish Across Texas have put this event in the Guinness World Records as it truly is the World’s Largest Surf Fishing Tournament. This year KOA is going “GREEN”. They want to use this event to collect and remove 20,000 pounds of trash from the beaches of South Padre Island and Cameron County.

Tournament organizers, Shane Wilson and Danno Wise of Fish Across Texas, have contacted local businesses and have collected many prizes which will be given away at the conclusion of the tournament. During the weigh in awards ceremony, drawings will be held and prizes will be awarded to those individuals who have the winning tickets. Tickets can be purchased in front of Pier 19 located within the KOA property the day of the tournament. The price of a ticket is one bag of trash. For each bag of trash collected and brought in to KOA and Pier 19, one ticket will be returned. If an individual brings in three bags of trash they will receive three tickets. If someone brings in 13 bags of trash they will receive 13 tickets and so on. The object is to pick up trash and trade it in for tickets. Prizes have been donated by Schlitterbahn’s, Ramada Limited, Benny’s By-The-Bay, Fish Across Texas, Pier 19, Palms Resort and Café, Tom & Jerry’s, Pirate’s Landing, and other local businesses that support the “UNLITTERIT” campaign.

Register on-line at www.FishAcrossTexas.com or go to Pier 19 this Saturday morning to register. Bring several trash bags and bring the whole family.

Note: I am donating a beach billboard (sand sculpture customed with your message/name/logo -- see beachbillboards.com for more info.

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Sea Turtle's Fragile Recovery at Risk?

Reading a story about Ike's effects that also mentions dredging -- happening right now on SPI:

"Sand dredged from nearby channels for rebuilding beaches might not exhibit the same physical and chemical characteristics that washed away and could render (sea turtle)nest building and egg incubation problematic."

read the article

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buy experiences, not things!

I knew this.

A new study demonstrates that experiential purchases, such as a meal out or theater tickets,(or a group sandcastle lesson!-sf) result in increased well-being because they satisfy higher order needs, specifically the need for social connectedness and vitality -- a feeling of being alive.

Read the article

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When I Grow Up I'm Gonna Wear a Bikini - (Ukulele Original)

I love this.

SoB word cloud

still playing...

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Playing with iTunes and wordle

sandyfeet.com/blog wordcloud

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sandy feet in print!

The Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports:http://bit.ly/Ve2WO

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GarageBand Song #10

Eliot - just one of my talented nephews - strikes again with a new original composition!

(Nearly) Zero Carbon Footprint Advertising

Strategically-placed billboards that serve their purpose, then crumble back into a pile of sand. No trees die, no permit is required and your company representative doesn't need to be on-site to oversee the operation because we email you updated progress shots right from the beach.

A billboard so cool that your message will immediately start showing up on cellphone cameras, blogs, tweets and youtube -- the photos and videos will literally spread themselves around with no further effort on your part.

Think spring break on South Padre Island. Think Coca Cola Beach, with thousands of bikini-clad college students. Think viral advertising. Think beachbillboards.com.

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New beach wedding castle video

Getting married on the beach? Check out this video!