The Sunday Column - Heading to San Francisco

Tomorrow morning I'm heading way out west on holidays with Stephen Errity. We start off by flying into LA where we'll spend the night in Thousand Oaks, a much nicer sounding spot than our original plan of going to Inglewood.

From there we'll head up the Pacific coast hitting San Fran on Wednesday and staying there until the following Monday.

Oh and we'll totally be playing this...



And this...



...in the car on the way there. See you all when I get back.

Lights, camera, action

I'm still very much in the whole formative stages of this video-making malarkey but I've noticed some interesting developments with the videos that I have posted online.

The coffee spill video, which has now surpassed the 2,000 view mark, and one of my videos of The Dude, which is approaching the same mark, are far cruder than most of my more recent work. One of these has actually managed to get quite a few views quickly, namely the video below of Dell launching its new line of laptops



The developments are thanks in large part to the help of other video users. Cóilín has given me tips on how to make better use of Movie Maker while Laura Jane Rich has introduced me to some other programmes which should help improve the presentation of the videos.

These moves are in part to support my new site, the URL for which has been bought but is yet to go live, and of course to improve the videos I'm presenting here as part of the STIG for CF Ireland campaign.

To date last year's Powerade parody is the most popular campaign video to date, while the montage has done respectably so far. The next video should be up before I fly to San Francisco on the 8th of September so keep your eyes peeled for that.

The Sunday Column - We have a winner

Congratulations to Bob Corr who has won tickets to the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals this Saturday in Croke Park. My apologies to Bob for mispronouncing his surname in the video, I read his name as Carr on the list of tickets sold.

If you didn't win fear not for everyone who participated in this draw will be entered into the main draw for the big prizes next month.

Tickets are still available by contacting me at emmetryan@gmail.com

Remember all the money raised goes towards the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland as part of our 2008 which climaxes this November when I run the New York City Marathon.

Last chance to win Premium tickets to the All Ireland Quarter Finals

The early entry deadline for the STIG for CF Ireland Prize Draw is this Saturday night. Anyone who hasn't reserved a ticket before this date will miss out on a chance to win 2 Premium tickets to an All Ireland Football Quarter Finals double header in Croke Park on Saturday the 9th of August.

The winner will be announced through a video which we will post in the next edition of The Sunday Column. This means it will likely go up on Monday the 4th seeing as my internet connectivity as of late hasn't been smashing.

We will still be selling tickets after this Saturday and everyone who buys a ticket will get a shot at the big prizes which are listed here.

Tickets cost €25 and can be bought by emailing emmetryan@gmail.com

Getting in shape and giving away prizes

As the video shows I've a bit of catching up to do if I want to be in shape come November 2nd.

A much closer date to keep in your diaries is the 2nd of August. That's the day we announce who has won 2 tickets to the All Ireland Football Quarter Finals. The tickets are for the Premium section of the ground and are for a double-header on the 9th of August.

The big match tickets are part of the STIG for CF Ireland Prize Draw. Only 200 tickets are being sold in all at €25 each.

On top of the GAA tickets we're giving away a €250 voucher for Brown Thomas, a €200 voucher for Nue Blue Eriu, a signed Dublin Gaelic Football jersey, a signed Tipperary hurling jersey and a Motorola MOTOKRZR K1 red handset.

The main draw will take place in September but any tickets bought before the 2nd of August will also be entered into the draw for the Premium ticekts, giving you a chance to win on the double.

All the money raised will go towards our 2008 STIG for CF Ireland campaign.

1,000 YouTube views and counting

My recent experiment of mixing coffee and laptops has now broken the 1,000 view barrier on YouTube. It’s the first video I’ve posted on the video sharing site to reach this milestone and while it’s still a few million views behind Sophie’s dancing vid, I’m still pleased with its success to date.

I’ll be posting new vids for the campaign on at least a monthly basis between now and the race and I’d be shocked if any of them match the success of the coffee spill.

These shorts are far from a solo effort and we’re already brainstorming on the next few vids. If any of you guys have any ideas that could be interesting or funny then we’re all ears.