Smash apples for fun and prizes
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GCN Lab’s Trudy Walsh ponders the symbolism of an apple smashing contest sponsored by Elecite, maker of BlackBerry theme software
The “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” schism, one of the great dichotomies of our time, just took a destructive turn.
Elecite, a company that designs themes for BlackBerry smart phones, is sponsoring a contest for the best video of an apple being smashed. That’s right, Elecite is looking for the most creative demolition of the tasty lunchbox favorite, be it the Granny Smith variety or, ahem, Macintosh.
The contest is not limited to BlackBerry users; anyone can enter. And if you're an Apple loyalist with an iPhone but want to enter anyway, Elecite will keep your secret.
Participants can upload one homemade video each week during the contest, which began Monday, April 19, and runs until 12:01 a.m., Friday, May 14. Forty finalists will be selected, and the top 7 winners will win a game system console of their choice.
To qualify, the video has to:
- Feature an apple being smashed to kingdom come.
- Be homemade.
- Be shorter than one-minute long.
- Have participants verbally state, “Elecite.com, Apple smash,” just before the apple is destroyed.
Coincidentally, this week marks the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day. Would early American environmentalist Johnny Appleseed approve of smashing apples to smithereens for fun? Actually, yes, if the seeds could be salvaged and distributed post-demolition, and go on to produce new apple trees. Put in that light, the contest is a real homage to Mr. Appleseed.
While we’re on the topic of destruction, I have to say that my favorite demolition experts of all time were SCTV’s Big Jim McBob and Billy Sol Hurok, played by Joe Flaherty and the late great John Candy, respectively. They ran a farm report show that ended the same way each week, by blowing up one of their celebrity guests. They would say of the guest, for instance, Meryl Streep, “She blowed up real good.” Actually, the farm report guys blew up just about everything except apples. If they were still around, though, I’m pretty sure they would stand a good chance of winning at least an Xbox 360 from Elecite.
So grab your monster trucks, your Acme anvils and your detonators. Make some instant applesauce, hold the cinnamon. And as Big Jim McBob and Billy Sol Hurok would say, “May the good Lord take a likin’ to you and blow your apple up real good.”
For more information: www.AppleSmash.elecite.com
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