View source for User:Jess Key/Sandbox/WAT

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== Next party ==

<center><big><big><big><big>Wednesday August 4th


<font color="red">
'''Celebrations!'''
</font color></big></big></big></big>


Inspired by a request for <font color="purple">'''Christmas in July'''</font color> as this month's topic, we're expanding to all reasons to celebrate: 
holidays, parties, hatchings, matchings...dispatchings...whatever is celebrated in your neck of the woods.</center>

The next '''Write-a-Thon''' is on Wednesday August 4th!

We know that not everybody has Wednesday at the same time though, so to make it fair '''our''' Wednesday lasts 48 hours! Therefore, '''Write-a-Thon''' starts on 
[http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=8&day=3&year=2010&hour=12&min=0&sec=0&p1=0 August 3th, 1200 UTC], when it starts being Wednesday in New Zealand, and ends on 
[http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=8&day=5&year=2010&hour=12&min=0&sec=0&p1=0 August 5th, 1200 UTC], when it finishes being Wednesday in Hawaii.

== What's a Write-a-Thon? ==
It's a bunch of people getting together on a wiki at a particular time to do a bunch of writing.  It's like an online party!  Heck no, it ''is'' an online party!  It's also an excuse for infrequent wikiers to show up and party hardy; to exchange ideas with people we might not "meet" otherwise.

But hey, why not show up in between the write-ins, too!

=== When? ===
Write-a-Thons happen the first Wednesday of every month. It starts on Tuesday 1200 UTC, when it starts being Wednesday in New Zealand, and ends on Thursday 1200 UTC, when it finishes being Wednesday in Hawaii. Save the [[#Next month's party|next month's date]]!  Put it on your calendar!  Set yourself a reminder!

Any new article you create, and any edit you make to somebody else's Write-a-Thon article during that time period will count, though to be a ''bona fide'' partier, you have to write your new articles when it's that day in your part of the world.

Our [[CZ:Monthly_Write-a-Thon/August_1%2C_2007|first Write-a-Thon]] took place Wednesday, August 1, 2007 and was considered a roaring good time--we had about 30 partiers creating something like 50 articles, and editing lots.

=== What are the rules? ===
Rules?  This is a party!  There are no rules!

Well, OK, maybe there are a couple rules:
* We'll have a Write-a-Thon the first Wednesday of every month.
* To participate, you only have to do two things: (1) start a ''new'' article (even just a stub will qualify,!), and (2) make a substantive edit (not just a copyedit) to somebody else's ''new'' article.  Then you can list your name here as a partier.  Until then, sign in as a porch-sitter, party-crasher, or total party poop.

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==Join the fun!==
=== The partiers ===
* The reason [[User:Aleta_Curry|Aleta]] is wide awake on Wednesday morning, albeit with a [[headache]], is that she was experiencing the [[World Cup|every-4-yearly-madness]] (there's a word for 'every four years', right?) that takes over the Chez Curry.  Football seems a reason to celebrate all over the world.  Okay, going to wake some CZers up.  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 21:52, 6 July 2010 (UTC)  I'm back, because at least one nation is going to celebrate after the finals of the [[2010 World Cup]] [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 00:19, 7 July 2010 (UTC) p.s. I think some of you lot need to [[false start|jump the gun]], because surely it would be embarrassing if a non-American did [[Fourth of July]], which would also qualify as a bang and a boom, wouldn't it?  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 00:25, 7 July 2010 (UTC)
:[http://books.google.com/books?id=OTZexfpmyDwC&pg=PA34&dq=quadrennial+world&hl=en&ei=R68zTKybOJ6gOKrk3M0E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=quadrennial%20world&f=false Quadrennial] should do. --[[User:Daniel Mietchen|Daniel Mietchen]] 22:35, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

::Aha! Thanx, buddy! [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 23:53, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

: Peter slightly updated the information concerning the final &mdash; it is like aiming at a moving target, though ... --[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] 08:15, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

* After thinking whether there shouldn't have been [[Football]] or [[Soccer]] in the title, [[User:Supten Sarbadhikari|Supten]] went on to create the [[International Mother Language Day]] that celebrates his mother tongue. [[User:Supten Sarbadhikari|Supten Sarbadhikari]] 08:19, 7 July 2010 (UTC) 

::: Do you know [[Bloomsday]]? --[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] 01:19, 7 July 2010 (UTC)
::::I didn't, but that's very cool! [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 02:49, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

* Just now the [[Sanfermines]] take place in Spain. And the [[Human Rights Day]] was the first international day proclaimed. --[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] 11:46, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Is it a [[birthday paradox]] when two celebrate at the same day (slightly expanded and moved from [[birthday coincidence]]). --[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter Schmitt]] 22:17, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

* [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford]] imported a bunch of pictures about making a chicken breast in chaud-froid sauce, then wrote a new article about [[Chaud-froid]], then was told by Peter that I may have been confusing the sauce with the dish.  Upon further research in the Larousse Gastronomique I can see that it's a tricky issue.  Since I'm celebrating this occasion by drinking my second martini of the evening, I think I'll wait until tomorrow to try to straighten it all out.  Plus create a Gallery with 7 photos in it.  At least the article is *there*, and it's not *too* incorrect.... [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 03:40, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

=== Keen-as-mustard and jumped the gun ===
*[[User:Peter Schmitt|Peter]] got a head start celebrating [[Bloomsday]].

=== Porch sitters--article creators who didn't edit a new article ===

=== Party crashers--article contributors who didn't create a new article ===
=== Rather late and missed the boat! ===
=== The shy ones, absent-minded profs, and other modest creatures ===
=== The total party poops ===
=== Special requests ===
=== Questions ===
*I've just about finished writing a mystery story called ''"Le Père Noël on Christmas Island"'', which is about a story by that name by James Norman Hall, although he never actually wrote it, RIP -- does that count? [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 21:54, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
::Sure! - like I would say 'no'? [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 08:40, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

:::EQMM will pay 5 to 8 cents a word for it, and it's gonna run almost 10,000 words -- what does the Write-a-Thong pay? [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 17:25, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

::::We're generous, Hayford, and we recognise your inestimable value.  Shall we say...five times your current CZ salary? [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 22:36, 4 July 2010 (UTC) p.s.  Hayford's writing about [[thong]]s, now?

:::::Offer accepted!  (I only write about thongs on Australian beaches....) [[User:Hayford Peirce|Hayford Peirce]] 03:42, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

=== It's a wrap! ===
=== Bonus point winners ===

== Standing orders ==
{{Tasks}}

===Related pages===
We had a special request for people to start stubs from the Related Pages of existing articles.  A good idea which will help us to complete clusters.

===Definitions===
Please take a look at [[:Category:Need def]] and help to bring the number of items on that list down.
You will also find links for this by Workgroups!

==Previous shindings  <small>([http://en.citizendium.org/wiki?title=CZ:Monthly_Write-a-Thon/Previous_shindigs&action=edit edit])</small>==

{{CZ:Monthly Write-a-Thon/Previous shindigs}}

== Official libations==
===2007===
* Inaugural - [[beer]]!
* September - [[champagne]]
* October - we were refurbishing the [[bar]] and only had [[coffee]]!
* November - made up for last month with more [[vodka]] than was good for us and plenty of [[rum]].
* December - [[eggnog]] and [[wine]]
===2008===
* January - [[Whisky]] and the ''Cocktail of the Month'', a [[pharisee (beverage)|pharisee]]
* February - [[schnapps]] and the ''Cocktail of the Month'', the [[caipirinha]] (considered the national drink of [[Brazil]])
* March - [[port wine]] (which should probably live at [[port (wine)]], no?  (Someone put that on their list, please....Oh, *someone* did--thanks, Ro) and the ''Cocktail of the Month'', a [[Dead Aunt]]
* April - [[Akpeteshie]] hot and fresh from Ghana.  And cool [[shandy|shandies]] and [[spritzer]]s if that took your fancy.  Lotsa staggering around the bar after this party!
* May - Was it [[champagne]]? ''No, we were dry, I think.''
* June - Were we abstaining yet again?
* July - [[Sherry]]
* August - [[pineapple]] [[juice]]  Well, that's all right, I guess!
* September - Given the music theme, i assume it was [[pop music|pop]]?
* October - [[Cranberry]] juice.  ''Some nut who shall remain nameless but whose initials are HP suggested [[Drano]], (i.e. what cleans better than Drano?) but....''
* November - [[Spring water]] (''Now Bruce just has to write it!'' [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 04:00, 3 December 2008 (UTC))
* December - [[Piña colada]] - get some light rum, mix it with pineapple and coconut cream. Instantly warp back to the eighties.
===2009===
* January - [[Bloody Mary]] - because, as Nietzsche said, we should only love that which is written with blood. Controversial enough?
* February - [[Absinthe]] - updates last month, but doesn't it make one forget? (No. Urban legend, except that 50-percent-plus alcohol does do its mite)
* March - [[Energy Drink]] - pump that caffeine into your system so you can burn through all those pesky definition subpages!
===2010===
*January - [[Hot toddy]] - for our friends in the Northern Hemisphere.
*April -- has to be a contextualizing mixer, or perhaps a nibble with the drink.

==Upcoming!==
*August 2010 - Historical places (anything related to) and the people and things contained therein.
*September 2010 - With a bang and a boom! (All puns accepted)
== Write-a-Thon Theme Suggestions==
===New Suggestions and Discussion===

*What about red links in [[Special:Random|Random pages]]? --[[User:Daniel Mietchen|Daniel Mietchen]] 10:15, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

*I suggest "Numbers".  [[User:Richard Pinch|Richard Pinch]] 07:21, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

* "Hometown Heroes" - write about someone famous from your part of the world (either where you're from, or where you are now).
* "Poles Apart" - find the spot directly on the other side of Earth from you, and write about someone or something in the vicinity. (Contributors on other planets, follow a similar procedure for whatever planet you're on. Contributors not on planetary bodies permitted to write about whatever they feel like.)
* Fill in an item from [[French_republican_calendar#Months_and_days|this interesting list of natural objects]]. Or [[Positivist_calendar#Commemorations|this interesting list of people]].
* All articles must start with the same letter of the alphabet, allowing for diacritics and transliteration (so Å, Á, and あ would all count if A were the letter, for instance).
* Photo stubs - no minimum word length, no theme requirement, but must contain an image.
* Choose a random number from 1 to 500, then go to [[Special:WantedPages]] and start an article on the topic currently at that rank.
[[User:Petréa Mitchell|Petréa Mitchell]] 19:15, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

*What will people most enjoy writing that could lead many different contributors to a short, but complete and interesting article that links to larger articles? Maybe "Events" could be a theme - pen-portraits of memorable sporting moments (see [[try]], or notable historical events - including tsunamis, eruption of Krakatoa, comet collision with Jupiter, the birth of Dolly the sheep, freeing of Nelson Mandela, the sinking of the Titanic, assassination of Martin Luther King, the Mutiny on the Bounty, the discovery of the Americas? Can I suggest asking that every new article should have at least one external link and links to other articles here?[[User:Gareth Leng|Gareth Leng]] 12:31, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
::*I like this idea.  Further, definitions and other subpages are preferable, even for stubs. [[User:Chris Day|Chris Day]] 17:01, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
:::Dare I suggest that even stubs can and should be non-orphans? Basic criteria: [[User:Howard C. Berkowitz|Howard C. Berkowitz]] 18:00, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
:::*Reachable from the front page or a core article/workgroup page
:::*Link to at least three other articles, even if they are redlinks in a Related Articles subpages
:::*Have at least three other articles link to them

* I propose "childish things" as a topic. --[[User:Larry Sanger|Larry Sanger]] 15:51, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
::Er...you talkin' 'bout me again???  You can always tell who's got a toddler at home, huh, Larry?  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 02:57, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

*[[Context]] (as provided by [[CZ:Related Articles|Related Articles]] or the addition of an image, e.g. [http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=context&l=cc&ss=0&ct=0&mt=photos&w=all&adv=1 from flickr]) --[[User:Daniel Mietchen|Daniel Mietchen]] 14:49, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
:This may involve blogging about an entry here at CZ, or about any aspect of the wiki. If you have never blogged before, please let me know, and I can help you set things up. --[[User:Daniel Mietchen|Daniel Mietchen]] 17:56, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

*[[Eyjafjallajökull‎]] and anything that can be plausibly linked to or from it or its [[Eyjafjallajökull‎/Related Articles|Related Articles]]. --[[User:Daniel Mietchen|Daniel Mietchen]] 14:31, 28 April 2010 (UTC)
:Too narrow, but maybe combined with immediately below?  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 00:17, 7 July 2010 (UTC)
*'''With a bang'''?  I've been improving [[explosives]], but also creating lots of linked things, conventional and nuclear, including [[United Kingdom nuclear weapons]], and also hoping to find a physicist to help some in getting into theory of operation.  But not everything that goes bang is a weapon:  [[drum]]s (well, maybe sometimes a weapon), more kinds of [[hammer]], etc. One could even extend to booms, which gets you into sailing. [[User:Howard C. Berkowitz|Howard C. Berkowitz]] 13:34, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
::Maybe ''with a bang and a boom'', combined with the volcano I can't spell or say, directly above?  [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 00:17, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

* '''For July:''' "[[Christmas]] in July" (possibly 'and other holidays'). "Christmas in July" is celebrated in many countries, and crafters often start making Christmas cards and presents at this time too. Lets join in! --[[User:Chris Key|Chris Key]] 16:41, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

* '''Historical places:''' [[castle]]s, [[shrine]]s, [[museum]]s, and the people and things contained therein. –[[User:Tom Morris|Tom Morris]] 14:25, 4 July 2010 (UTC)
::Good one!  I think you made this suggestion after I'd already agreed to Chris's.  Why don't we use this for August?  And, you know you get bonus points for combining two topics--hee! [[User:Aleta Curry|Aleta Curry]] 00:13, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

== See also ==
* Larry Sanger, [http://blog.citizendium.org/2007/08/09/why-the-write-a-thon-worked/ Why the Write-a-Thon worked], Citizendium Blog, August 9, 2007
* [[CZ:Weekly Wiki|Weekly Wiki]]
* [[CZ:Article of the Week|Article of the Week]]
* [[CZ:New Article of the Week|New Article of the Week]]

{{initiatives}}