And teh winnnir iz...

I can now announce (as I was waiting until the winner got home from vacation and got his prize in the mail) that the official winner of the 2008 Great Typo Contest is...Martin Maenza!!

For those who did not know this, I started a contest on 4/6/2008, announced here on this blog, that would reward people for telling me how retarded I am. Frankly, I was just sick of going back and looking at something I'd written online, weeks later, and suddenly noticing a typo that I'd missed. So I decided to get some backup from people I knew...and make it worth their while, if they did it best.

The contest closed on 4/6/2009, and my pal Martin squeaked out the win (it was close!) by finding the most typos during that one-year period. As I'd said originally, the prize for the winner was going to be something personalized. So as I know Martin has recently picked up the whole run of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD (though we're on opposite sides of the country, I'm re-watching the eps along with him (though it's not a re-watch for him, as this is his first time through) and trading reviews with him), his prize for the big win ended up being the first two graphic novels in the "Buffy: Season 8" series written by Joss Whedeon (and other series writers). He, of course, will have to wait to crack them until he's done with the first seven seasons of the TV stuff, but at the rate he's going, I don't think it'll be that long of a wait.

So I do hope you (eventually) enjoy them, Martin, and thanks again, my friend, for your vigilant eye and willingness to edit me from afar! And thanks, too, to all of you out there (and there were quite a few of you) who participated and did your part to make my writing look less lame. While the rest of you didn't get any goodies this time around...the 2009 contest is already underway!

As a reminder, the contest works this way: if you find a typo (defined as a typo or a misspelling, or even a geographical fact boo-boo (just had my first one of those pointed out, thanks to Jo)) in anything that I write online--and it's something that's FIXABLE (that is, something I can edit)--you let me know via email or a note on here. You may find such typos on this blog, or on my web page, or on the Nice Guy site (if we ever get back to that again), or whatever. If you find it, and you're the first one to point it out, you get a point. Person with the most points on 4/6/2010 wins and gets a prize. So, for example, typos in email don't count, as that's not something I can go back and correct. Same with, say, comments on this blog. Blog itself counts, comments do not. And it has to be a clear error, not a debatable one...for example, I sometimes get creative with the language use and make up fake words because they sound funny. So if it's a mistake for realz (see what I did there? I did a wacky internet word...on purpose!), then it counts! So don't hesitate to let me know. This not only helps keep my writing looking better, but each time one is pointed out, that's a reinforcement for me to watch out for it in the future. So you're helping me become a better writer, helping others who have to read this stuff whose eyes might scorch at the sight of a "your" instead of a "you're", and you may just end up helping yourself to something cool for your troubles.

So, thanks again, Martin, thanks again, everyone else from 2008, and start looking for those boo-boos for the next big win! It is ON!