HTF Contest: Win an Epson HC 8700 1080P projector courtesy of Epson and ProjectorPeople.com! (1 Viewer)

I would use this and the Wii remote hack to make an interactive whiteboard to help my kid with his 1st grade homework and show him an example of thinking outside the box as well as color inside the lines. Hopefully it'll help stimulate that right and left brain synergy and get those creative juices stewing so that I can retire early.


It would also give me a great excuse to upgrade my video card to a Nvidia GTX 580 (maybe 2) and play COD Black Ops with 7.1 surround in the living room. Boom Headshot!


On the more practical side, I can just imagine the awesomeness of watching Michigan State in the Rose Bowl on my leather sofa with a Heineken mini-Keg in a hacked mini-frig to the left and a plate of sashimi and buffalo wings on the right....mmmmmm.... auuuurite!


peace

 

[SoundDoc]

When I was a kid, I was the official school projectionist from grade 2 to grade 5 – it was a two-room school, but I wore that Bell & Howell pin proudly. Later in high school, I was the official AV guy because I was the only student excused from Physical Education following a back injury in a school system that did bot have the concept of study hall nor free period. Later, when I was in the Army in spite of the same bad back, stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Army Audiology and Speech Center, I had a second gig as the main post theater projjectionist for which I was paid cash to show films five nights a week using old carbon-arc Peerless projectors that I converted to place stereo sound tracks when Tora! Tora! Tora! was released.

When, 25 years later, I first had the opportunity to purchase a projector for work to show what would eventually first replace the overhead protector transparencies and then display endless PowerPoint projections, I chose the Epson 810. It was bright enough for everything from darkened auditoriums to normally lighted conference rooms. It was used in many a meeting and every presentation we did for many years was first displayed on the Epson 810, critiqued, edited. These were scientific presentations, as well.

But, the Epson 810 was also used to as the projector for every SuperBowl game for six years, for showing DVDs such as Pearl Harbor on living room walls, and even showing Unbreakable on the wall of a hotel suite at Washington Marriott Hotel at Woodley Park (formerly the Washington Sheraton).

Now, I have two HDTVs, an older 50-inch Toshiba RP-CRTV that has superb color, excellent blacks, white whites, and an extremely well calibrated color range between. However, it is limited to 1080i with two component inputs. I use one for pulling in over-the-air broadcasts and the other for input from my Blu-Ray player. The newer is a 37-inch Olevia 720p set that I use in the bedroom, using its single component input for over-the-air broadcasts and its HDMI input with another Blu-Ray player.

Both of these sets are bright enough to be used in fully-lighted rooms. In fact, the Olevia can be adjusted for the room light level and the Toshiba can automatically adjust its contrast based on room light. Both of these sets can be set to use a 3:2 pull down for film-based material and 60 Hz interlaced for video.

However, neither can provide the true theater feel of watching a 1080p at a high refresh rate on a large-format screen. I have just the room for that of dimensions 27 by 19 by 8.5 feet that can be darken as needed and that can support a 100-inch pull-down ceiling-mounted screen as well as a nice set of speakers in a 9.1 array and yet be used as a normal living room when not being used for home theater. My current speakers have a very high efficiency and it is easy to reach DTS or Dolby reference levels for sound and I only need a nice Audyssey MultEQ system for evening out some remaining room nodes.

The new EPSON Home Cinema 8700 UB projector would be perfect for showing the Thanksgiving football games, the perennial It’s a Wonderful Life, maybe even A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as the new Blu-Ray releases such as Date Night, Public Enemies, From Paris with Love, and of course, the SuperBowl XLV to continue the tradition started with the Epson 810.

[SIZE= 14px]OH, and I needed to add that I just had back surgery and am sitting in bed recovering. However, by next week I should be able to sit up and watch the football on Thursday (Patriots vs Lions and the Saints vs Cowboys) as well as subsequent fair and I have enlisted helpers who would be most willing to install everything in time as well as bring over dinner since this year we had not planned inviting our usual tribe due to my surgery. But, oh how the arrival of a new projector could change that. (It's true and how's that for the sympathy factor?)[/SIZE]

 

[rolo]

I would love to win the home projector. We have one now but it belongs to my wifes job and it is compact and she brings it home for the weekends for movie night. Movie night is awsome with my grandson. Every Saturday night we pick up my grandson and the first place we stop is at the video store. We rent out four kid movies that he picks what he likes and we go home make popcorn , kool-aid and we turn all the lights down low and we snuggle up on the futon in the TV room and we watch movies all night long, of course i pass out first and he will wake me up and tell me to put in another movie. If the weather is nice we camp out outside and sometimes invite the neighbors and their kids and we have an all night movie campout. It is great,we have lots of fun and we build wonderful memories to share for a lifetime.

 

[lexlynx]

Since it would be way too easy for people to just read my entry, I’ve decided to make it into a movie trivia game. Just guess the right answers to my trivia questions below to fill in the blanks!


Me, my wife Andrea, daughter Sarah and younger son Lincoln have just finished Thanksgiving dinner. I tried my hand at cooking this time, but…


Andrea: Hmm, the 1 sauce was very….creative.


Lincoln: It was yucky.


Sarah: I think you might’ve went too 2 on the oregano there…


Me: Hey, it came out 3 , didn’t it? That means it worked.


Andrea: Well, when in 4 … It was terrible, dear. Don’t worry, everything else was great.


Sarah: Yeah, the rest of it was fine, but there’s still a ton of 5 left over.


Bailey (the 6 ): [ 7 ]!


Lincoln: Can we give em to Bailey?


Me: Give her enough for a meal, and we’ll just wrap the rest of it in a 8 and have it for 9 tomorrow. Don’t forget, your mom made us some 10 s for dessert. Ok, we’ll clean up later- let’s do a 11 ! What does everyone feel like?


Andrea: Something in the holiday spirit.


Sarah: Are there even any Thanksgiving movies out there?


Lincoln: Jack could have gone through the Thanksgiving tree but he didn’t. Then it could have been one.


Sarah: I have NO 12 what you’re 13 -ing about.


Lincoln: Hey Dad, can we watch The Neverending Story?


Sarah: I don’t think 14 has anything to do with Thanksgiving.


Me: Alright then, fussbucket, what would you want to watch?


Sarah: Whatever…


Andrea: Is Christmas 15 a Thanksgiving 11 ?


Me: Kinda…well not really.


(Silence blankets the room for a few moments)


Me: How about a game, then. I’ve been working on this 12 for a 11 trivia contest…


Sarah: Pshh, contests are 16 .


Me: Hey, you want a projector or not?? Alright, let’s watch 17 , I just 18 it on 19 . It has a famous feast scene, anyway.


Andrea: Oh, does it? Well that sounds pretty good!


Sarah: Is it a feel good-movie?


Me: Yes, you will definitely feel good about your situation after watching the 20 these guys get into...


Lincoln: Ummm, is it like a Pixar movie?


Me: Sure, it’s like Pixar... In fact, it’s just like Wall-E-- there’s an outsider who visits a ship and spreads his….persona around. And just like with Wall-E, they try to kill him with an airlock, but heh, no way José. He 21 gets out and goes all, "Rarrrggggh, I'm Wall-E!!" And they’re like, “Ahh, shoot it!!” but they can’t, because he’s already disappeared into the 22 ! Great, huh?


Lincoln: [just stares]


Andrea: It is 23 for 24 , right? They’re not going to spend Thanksgiving 25 and 26 , are they?


Me: Ahem, I believe you left the oven on. Alright, let’s get this show on the road!


1. Lonestar is the only man who would dare give his fated enemy the _______

2. -Great Scott! –This is ______!

3. The color of the bathing suit that hit Clark Griswold’s window in the winter.

4. The country where Bruce Lee defeated Chuck Norris

5. “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of _____!”

6. “Well I brought my dinosaur, who EATS force field _____s!”

7. “_______, Seymour…________ all night lonnng!”

8. Mr. Potato Head’s temporary body.

9. This would sound good to Doyle. But Detective Calloway doesn’t want to hear it…

10. Spoken to a young Kirk: “Come with me, ________!”

11. “Hey, "In Like Flint!" That’s my favorite ______!”

12. What is the most resilient parasite? Dom Cobb knows.

13. “When you have to shoot, shoot! Don’t ______!”

14. The philosophical doctrine that Uli, Flea, and the other kidnappers from the techno-pop band Autobahn subscribe to

15. After defeating the T-1000, Arnold said he needed a ______.

16. “________ And ________-er”

17. The 1964 Chevy Malibu, sought after by all the repo men in L.A., had the remains of a dead ______ in the trunk…

18. “I’d ____ THAT for a dollar!” (change to past tense)

19. The storage format used by the security cameras in the Ocean Club hotel in Casino Royale

20. Farva’s favorite restaurant, with all the goofy stuff on the walls and the mozzarella sticks.

21. “Mr Han- ______ I’d like to leave your island!”

22. McClane has crawled through many of these.

23. This was dropped on Eddie Valiant’s brother

24. Benny’s got five ______ to feed!

25. Sgt. Four Leaf Tayback was not _______ when his hands blew up.

26. Sandpeople are easily _______, but they’re known to return in greater number.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm a long time home theater enthusiast. I think 1996 was the first year I actually considered buying a projector to show off my Laserdisc movies.

I'm just shocked that the type of projector you could buy back then(roughly $15,000) would be considered today obsolete. I guess the advent of HD home viewing changed everything in that regard.


After Thanksgiving dinner, I would show my family a classic. King Kong(1933) would be my choice. My nieces, and nephews might not like it as well as "How to Train Your Dragon", but hopefully they would appreciate the film. Also, my brother, and I are huge Star Trek fans. I would love to show him an episode or two of the original series on Blu-Ray. Maybe "Arena", and "Devil in the Dark". But that would be for just him, and myself. I don't think the rest of my family is wild about Star Trek.


At any rate, it should be a great Thanksgiving.

 

[PASANDY]

What would I do with a new movie projector. I would movie myself senseless! I got the love of the movies from my Dad. He was born in the 1930's and would tell me about getting a quarter to take his sister and him to the movies and get candy and popcorn. Since I was small I could repeat the intro the to the old radio show he loved so much. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man? The shadow knows! Wuhahahaaaa." My Dad and I were always movie buddies. All of my childhood through my adult life. He would occassionally "fire" me if I did not take him often enough as he got older. I have such wonderful memories seeing Star Trek movies, slasher flicks or any other kind of movie. You name it we would watch it. Good or bad, we'd be there. As Dad got older I always thought it was funny how my friends couldn't believe that Dad would watch Saw or Jeepers Creepers but I had to explain that he grew up watching Dracula, Wolfman, Mummies and Alien movies. He loved all types of movies. It was always comical dragging my 75 year old Dad into some new slasher flick and he was always the oldest there. But he loved it.


My Dad got cancer in 2005. He fought so very bravely but it eventually overwhelmed him in 2008. The doctor told him he would not make it to the end of the year. Well, here we were in December, by george! My Dad wanted me to take him to see the movies. Come Hell or high water he wanted to see a movie. So, on December 18th we went to see The Day The Earth Stood Still. We had such a wonderful day. Movie, lunch and spent the day together. As it would turn out. That was our last movie. Ten days later he was gone. But what I was soon to realize that The Day the Earth Stood Still was just more than a movie title for me. God and my Dad let that day just stand still so I could have just one more glorious day with my Dad doing what we loved to do best.


A few months later in a dream something came to me and I think it was from my Dad. I now have a rememberance from my Dad. I have a tattoo on my foot. It is a Movie Reel that is unraveling its film into a cancer ribbon with "DAD" on it and the words "THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL" to mean the last movie and the beautiful day that did stand still.


Every movie I watch I know my Dad is with me. Movies are a big part of my life. To have something like this would have my Dad's dream. For me it would be a dream come true. To watch the movies that we loved over and over again. To watch the photo slides I have made of my Dad. So priceless.


I would like to win. But if I don't it makes me happy to let people know about my fearless, honorable, loving Dad- Lonnie 1930-2008 I will love you forever.

 

[pansy]

It would be so awesome to have the Epson projector! No big long story needed. Thanksgiving is the time for the super funny "Planes, trains and automobiles" It is a standard in our house. Nothing better to be thankful for than winning the projector and sharing a hilarious movie with the folks we love. Hope its my folks!

 

[Boaty McBoatface]

If I were to win the EPSON HC 8700, my family would probably sit and kick off the holiday season after Thanksgiving dinner by watching the Polar Express. I am a big fan of Christmas and of spending time with my family. Every year we start off the holiday season by taking a trip downtown and watching Kalamazoo's Holiday Parade which takes place on the first Saturday in November. The next two weeks is spent decorating the house for Christmas. It takes a while to do because our decorating consists of putting up three Christmas trees(one large artificial, a live tree and a table top), a great Christmas village, and outside decorations.


In addition to decorations, there is lots of Holiday show watching in our family, and our favorite is the Polar express. Most holiday TV viewing is done on the flat screen in the living room, but for a show that's is as special as the Polar Express, we always go to the dedicated theater in the basement. I wouldn't call it a really outstanding theater, our house is rented and I had to build it in a way that would make things easily removable when ever we move. It's no where near Ideal nor is it optimized for great viewing or great sound. Most of my equipment consists of budget gear, except maybe my speakers and receiver. However I had fun putting it together and we have fun watching movies in it. I hope to have a great theater one day in my future ( I'm in my last two semesters of college, thank GOD. 37 year old senior here). However, this theater will always be special to me, especially with all it flaws. We have lots of good memories in our theater. I think my favorite is of my daughter wearing her diaper hammering with her plastic tools in the same manner that her daddy hammered over in the theater.


Yes we have a lot of fun in our little theater. I can only imagine how much for fun it would be if we were to win the EPSON. It would go well with the new popcorn machine that my in-laws gave as a graduation present.

 

[FanboyZ]

I got diagnosed with chron's and my dog died this year.

I also can't have wheat, so no pizza, bagels, egg McMuffins, or Popeye's Chicken for me ever again.

Epson PJ would be better than the above.

 

[DebBG]

My DAD . . . born in a home in the country side of an Indian reservation with no water, no electricity, no automobile, the youngest of twelve children. His humble beginning led to a hard life full of challenges and accomplishments. He watched, hidden under a bed, as his mother was taken away to a hospital when others felt she was not capable of taking care of herself. Bounced from sibling to sibling to kind community member, he was an orphan. Eventually, he made it to a boarding school for Indian children. When he was old enough, he left the school, picking up odd jobs that gave him places to live while he finished high school as a four-year, four-letter athlete. My grandparents were avid sports' fans and took a liking to my dad, where he met my gentle mother. Following high school he enlisted in the Air Force to make a life for himself. This training equipped him to make a life for him and my mom to begin our FAMILY! He and Mom had seven children, one with severe disabilities. They struggled to care for him and the rest of us at a time before laws provided education to children with disabilities. His strength, his wisdom, his sincere love for family helped make us all a strong unit that learned how to stick it out in hard times. As a young girl, I watched him work long hard hours and then go to college to pick up a teaching degree, never ceasing in his determination to make a good life for our family. To make a long story short, my dad faced so many challenges that I need to write a book about his life because he overcame all of them with class and determination. He recently suffered trauma when two heart valves ruptured. His body virtually collapsed and we were told that he would more than likely not live. To everyone else's surprise, Dad survived!! It did trigger problems in his brain, however. My dad now struggles with his memory, but is physically fine. He has good days and bad, but generally can't remember all of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren - the most important foundation of all of our lives that he created. We are determined to help him the way he has always helped us. I have made a movie about our family that I will watch with my family on Thanksgiving Day to celebrate all that Dad has created. All thirty-four of us will gather to see the movie that was created in honor of my Dad's creations. I would love to have a projector to make it bigger than life for my dad!

 

[Intensev5]

Reality is, I have no idea how to begin this post in order to attract attention and compel someone to actually read it. What I do know is that I would like to be considered to win the projector.


To keep the attention of those who may be reading past my lame opening statement, it is my belief that the level of creativity within the entry must be exponential. After all, there are plenty of excellent entries meeting that criteria posted before mine. If you are still with me, you may be wondering where I may be going with this. Honestly, I really don’t know. I figure that if I just start typing, something is bound to come up. Think of it as the infinite monkey theorem with me being the monkey of course… OK, how about this:


The question posed is: If you had Epson’s outstanding new Home Cinema 8700 UB projector, what would you watch in high-def on the big screen as you kick back after thanksgiving dinner? The answer to that, in my case, is quite simple. Transformers. A more difficult question to answer is who I would watch it with. This is where things take a turn to the tragic, dramatic or otherwise thespian. Yes, I used the thesaurus and I really have no idea how to use the word, but I digress. The answer, so that it makes sense, is in the form of a story. However, it is neither a sad story nor a happy story and It has no heroes and no villains. It's a story, based in fact not fiction, that I think everyone can relate to (yeah I know bold statement, but I do not know any better. You will find out why below)


At this point you can chose to continue to read my story, you can skip the next few paragraphs and read the conclusion, move on to the next entry or deem this to be the winner and send the projector immediately. If all of the above mentioned suggestions are unacceptable, please continue with your business as you best see fit.


My original plan was to be the proud owner of a projector, but not just any projector you see. It had to be the very best my hard earned money could buy. In those days it was not very much. Mac and cheese, a bit of gas for the old 72 maverick my dad’s friend had donated to me and beer took priority over any savings.


As a single male, and as my wife routinely points out, I was not smart enough to save money for anything and much less an expensive projector. I am told I’m still not any better in the smarts department since I seem to have used up any and all available brain cells in me to pursue, and eventually convince my wife to marry me[COLOR= rgb(255, 255, 255)]_[/COLOR]. She says it’s her charity work and it will be highly rewarded when she passes on. I digress again.

My wife and I (who was my girlfriend then) moved into an apartment. We literally had nothing, so any savings or any extra income we could muster, had to go towards buying things like a sofa-bed. We had no bed so a sofa-bed is quite the bang for your buck. Imagine: living room by day and bedroom by night… Brilliant! We also needed dishes, towels and furniture. My projector savings were put on hold.

After some time, we moved into a condo and all income had to go to pay the mortgage and furniture. My projector savings were put on hold again. Soon followed our first house, but with that came blinds, a lawn mower and more furniture. My projector savings were put on hold once more. We then married and kids followed. Any money now had to go to diapers, formula, a larger food budget, a fancy camera to take pictures with, and… kid’s furniture. This exercise took place not once, not twice, but three times and you may have guessed that the savings for the projector were now no more than a distant thought. I must declare I was not the engineer of this predicament because as I said before, I have no smarts. I just take direction and do what I’m told. I digress again.


Soon enough the house was too small for two adults one teenager, two small children and a cat (Jewels). So, we moved again to a bigger house with a large yard and a walkout basement. The kids all have their own rooms and we have more furniture. It would be appropriate at this time to say that Jewels is the proud owner of a fancy litter box in the garage with a private entrance, but that's not all. Jewels also has furniture; a comfortable kitty bed that sits by the heater. How cute… NOT. I, on the other hand, have neither projector nor projector savings. I digress again, but I’m sure you can start to see where this is going.


So here I go thinking that now is the time to start saving for that projector. We have the house, we have the cars and we have the furniture! Think again. It appears that the bundles of joy that are my children must, for some reason, have to have an education. One thing I did not mention is they are all three years apart. Yes three years apart. So when we were going through diapers, one would start to transition out of diapers and the other would start the transition into diapers. Well, not really, there is no transition into diapers. Children are born and after a quick slap to the derriere, into a diaper they go. The first one is free at the hospital though.

The way I see it, I currently sit in the middle of the road. I entered the tunnel and the end is really the same distance as the beginning. What does that mean you ask? Well here is my logic. I have been following the dangling carrot for a long time thinking one day I would be able to start to save for my projector. The truth is, my first born will start higher education next year, three years latter my second will go, three years after that, my third and as my third enters higher education; my first will be finishing her degree (4 years for a bachelors degree and 2 more years for something useful) and I can bet my projector savings that we will need to assist her moving out and therefore she will need… Yes you guessed it: furniture. In 15 years (the combined 12 years of schooling starts next year followed by 1 year for each child to get established before moving out – trust me I did the math with my negative IQ) I will be able to start my savings for the projector. Not so fast Einstein. If I am not dead by then, the house will be too big, we will have to downsize and.... Yes, buy new furniture.


To conclude, I have resigned myself to the fact that the only way I will ever have a projector is to beg my children to send me to a retirement home that has a projector. I am confident they will be able to sell my furniture to finance the retirement home and I am OK with that.


But wait. Today, my wife sent me an e-mail at work and even though I know this will get me in trouble I will share with you what it said.:


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 128)]Subject: Hey[/COLOR]


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 128)]want to win a projector[/COLOR]


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 128)][/COLOR]


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 128)]enter here[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 12px]Yup. That is the first thing I thought too… Awwwww, how thoughtful. My hopes have been resurrected. [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 12px]Please make me the winner of your projector contest. I promise to post pictures of me, myself and I watching movies, because I’m not sure if I will invite anyone. Just kidding I will invite everyone; there is enough furniture to sit on. [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 12px]Thank you for reading. I don’t blame you if you gave up after the first two words.[/SIZE]

 

[dsully444]

I am looking for a little help around the house this holiday season. I have a one year old, just turned 1 on 11/9, she is the love of my life. I crrently have an old Mitts RPTV that is on the fritz. I would love to provide her with a place to watch her new found love of Sesame Street so she can dance and sing along and watch wtihout having to worry about hitting the screen as she often does on the PRTV. I plan to make a DIY screen via painting on the wall, so durability is not an issue. See her in her Halloween Costume below, could you really deprive this angel from a beautiful new projector to watch all of her favorite show? This is all for my little Monkey.


I would also be lying if I didn't mention that she also watches quite a bit of ESPN with old dad as well.

 

[dsully444]

She even has her own theater chair...

 

[dsimko2004]

Hi,

My name is Chaplain David Simko. I minister to truck drivers every weekend. Truckstop Ministries Inc. is the organization that I am associated with. If I were to win I would use it to show films to truck drivers on Friday nights. I would join an organization to pay royalties to show the films and it would bring great pleasure to thousands who come each week to Madera at the Pilot Truckstop. Thank you and God bless you for the opportunity to try and win. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[PASANDY]

Hello there.


Actually, In your rant I am supposing that I am one of "those people" you are speaking of that quote" has a story to tell and like a well rehearsed demonstration of communication with the dead". I am not sure why you would want to put anyone down. Because that is how I took it.


I want to stand up for everyone that has a story or a communication with the dead and has written on this post. Writing about our stories beings those people closer to our hearts, gives us a little peace and just sharing a story with people may make a connection out there thay someone may relate to that will give someone else peace that may be going through the same thing. Does it specifically deal with Epson? Maybe not. Will it win me the Epson Projector? Probably not. But you know what? I had the best Father that someone could ask for. I put my story on here because it dealt specially with my Father and I and our love of movies. We had a love of movies that lasted three decades. It was our Father/Daughter special time. I remember seeing the first Star Trek and sitting in the theater crying because he wasn't there to see the last Star Trek movie. Sneaking off to the movies during the day with my Father was such a special time. During the 10 days that I was taking care of him in home care hospice was hard. Our first night together we sat up the first night and would doze off and when we would wake up we would start Ghost Rider with Nickolas Gage over and over again. Watching movies at the theater with him 4-5-6 months prior to his death and him saying he wanted to see those but knowing he wouldn't be there to see them broke my heart everytime he said it. And knowing I could not cry in front of him. These are true stories and each one of us that has a personal story about personal loss of a loved one or loss of our own freedom due to medical or financial problems are as good as any other story.


The fact that I was willing to tattoo a film reel unraveling film into a cancer ribbon with a movie title above shows commitment to the memory of my Dad and to our love of movies. What am I and my Family going to do with an Epson Projector? Watch The Day The Earth Stand Still and think about my Dad and how he wanted to spend that last day with me because he knew he had only days left. Look at a DVD's we've made of my Dad. Like the helicopter ride I had gotten my Dad prior to his death because he always wanted to ride in one. And thanks to a hospital they granted his wish. Or the fact that my parents were married 48 years and I got my parents vows renewed to celebrate their 50th anniversary reunion because I knew Daddy wouldn't be here but I didn't see why they could not celebrate it together. We have some beautiful memories before my Dad left this world.


Maybe you might think this "communication wit the dead" is sappy. But it is all I have to hold on to as Daddy's Girl. It will be 2 years December 28th. The wound is just as fresh now as it was the minute he passed. With me at his side with my head on his chest and hearing the last breath escape his body. The most proud and the most devastating moment of my life.


I stand behind my story. It is my personal history. If the forum doesn't choose me, okay. I enjoyed sharing it. If it gives another child/ spouse or survivor of cancer a moment of peace then it was worth my time in writing it.


Sir, I wish you luck. But wish me luck as well.


I did answer the question of "What I would do with an Epson Home Projector as I kick back after Thanksgiving".

 

[Intensev5]

Dear Pasandy;


Please accept my most sincere apologies. The intent of the opening paragraph was simply to attempt to capture the readers attention and perhaps persuade them to continue reading on. In all honesty I had not read your entry before posting mine. It appears to me you took the word like to mean enjoy when the purpose of the word was to mean such as. Again I assure you my intent was not offend you or anyone else.

I urge you to take it for what it was; an attempt at creative writing. I have since removed what you deemed offensive as I truly believe everyone here is just trying to have fun and win the projector. However, I will include it below so everyone, including the judges, can form their own opinion as my intent was never to offend or single anyone out. I would not want an oversight such as this to detract sponsors from offering these opportunities in the future.


"Reality is, everyone has a story to tell and like a well rehearsed demonstration of communicating with the dead, the daily horoscope and 1-900 psychic reader hot-lines, everyone will find a personal message within the stories posted.


To capture the attention of those who may be reading past my lame opening statement, it is my belief that the level of creativity within the entry must be exponential. After all, there are plenty of excellent entries meeting that criteria posted before mine. If you are still with me, you may be wondering where I may be going with this rant. Honestly, I really don’t know. I figure that if I just start typing, something is bound to come up. Not unlike the infinite monkey theorem, with me being the monkey of course… OK, how about this:"

 

[PASANDY]

I accept your apology. I must have misunderstood. I just did not understand what "a well rehearsed communication of the dead" meant.

The opporunity to win such an item would be a boon to our household. However, because of my misunderstanding the chance is probably now lost to me.


My reason for relaying the further information that I wrote to you is to let you know why I wrote that story. Not for some sympathy vote but a true love of movies that my Father gave to me. And it is something that I treasure this very day. When I walk into the doors to the theater I close my eyes and say in a whisper that I hope Dad is going in there with me.


Thank you for the statement.


I appreciate your time.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Let's not continue this any further, please.


Back to entries.

 

3 years ago we packed up our family and moved clear accross the country, for work, and so we could continue to afford specialized schooling for our autistic child. We left behind both of our families and have not seen them since. On all holidays when we have our meals, open presents etc, we do a conference call on speaker phone. It's nowhere near the same but it's the best we can manage at the moment. With something like this we could either put together a slide show of pictures, or ask our families to video tape themselves so we could have visual as well as audio, and make it one step closer to actually having our families with us on the holidays!

 

[Steve Tannehill]

There are some good stories here. I have a long one, but will make it simple: the TV in my home theater died, and since I am currently unemployed, I can not afford to replace it. A new projector would be very nice. There are a few hurdles to overcome, like getting rid of the old TV (which is an old 65-inch RPTV--huge). I might just move it to the back wall, and use it as a temporary shelf for the new projector, and figure out a formal mount later. I'd have to get a rush order of cables from Blue Jeans. If everything fell into place, I could be watching my favorite movie Thanksgiving evening: It's A Wonderful Life.