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Owner: Kiki
Guest Writer: NA
- November 1, 2011
The CS Times
So sorry to keep you guys waiting but here is another issue of the CS Times! Hopefully the next one will be released mid-November. C:
The main focus of this issue is, though a little late, Halloween. We are also taking a look at the exciting new pets for the month of November!
There is a new poll up so don't forget to vote!
Also, I had many submissions for the Pet Spotlight and it was very hard to narrow it down to one. Congratulations to Fufluffy and their pet Harry for winning this issue's spotlight.
Don't forget to check out the archive for other CS Times issues you may have missed.
Hugs, Kiki
The main focus of this issue is, though a little late, Halloween. We are also taking a look at the exciting new pets for the month of November!
There is a new poll up so don't forget to vote!
Also, I had many submissions for the Pet Spotlight and it was very hard to narrow it down to one. Congratulations to Fufluffy and their pet Harry for winning this issue's spotlight.
Don't forget to check out the archive for other CS Times issues you may have missed.
Hugs, Kiki
Halloween Event of 2011
by Kiki
by Kiki
- It's that time of the year again, when users stalk the Chicken Smoothie website for those elusive banners and there is an alarming increase of un-dead pets roaming in users' accounts. This time of the year, of course, could be none other than Halloween. While Halloween is officialy over, a recap never hurt anybody.
Halloween is believed to have originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain, a "summer's end" festival full of festive gatherings and a perfect setting for supernatural encounters. The word Halloween itself originated from a Scottish variant of the 16th century's 'All-Hallows-Eve'. Making jack-o-lanterns was originally a method of remembering the souls in purgatory, and the lanterns were carved from turnips, not pumpkins. Another popular Hallloween tradition, trick-or-treating, seemed to have been inspired by an old Medieval practice, souling. This involved people (usually poor) going door to door on November 1, collecting food in return for prayers for the dead (All Souls Day was on November 2). Now Halloween is mostly a commercial holiday, intended for the enjoyment of children and even adults alike.
However, on Chicken Smoothie Halloween is a different affair. Every year there is a variety of Halloween-themed items and pets to collect, some free and some trade-able for candy. Said candy is scattered around the forums and obtained by clicking a banner that appears at the bottom of a page. You can try your luck at some candy every 20 minutes. Keep in mind though, sometimes the banner gives out its own exclusive items or pets instead! Anyway, the candy collected is then trade-able to Totoro, to whom Tess has not given permission to go trick-or-treating. Still in need of a sugar fix, the poor bird recruits the help of all Chicken Smoothie users during a a fun filled week or two.
Included in the collectible items this year was a squid suit for dogs, angel and devil costumes, bat stuffed animals and a box with a variety of cover-up eyes for dogs. There were also a lot of pets, namely a swamp cat, lots of dogs, rats, birds and a few spooky horses.
All in all this was a very successful Halloween on Chicken Smoothie! Next major event is Christmas, so CS users can relax. We've got at least a month to recover.
Global Moderator Openings
by Kiki
by Kiki
- Only a week or two after the new Oeakaki Moderators (Drizzle and PitchBlack) were announced, staff applications were opened up again by Tess, this time for the job of Global Moderator. However, a new rule for applications narrowed down the pool of hopefuls quite a bit; you needed to be 18 years of age or older to apply. Seeing as a lot of CS members are younger than 18, the applications totalled to 8 or 9 pages, in comparison of the overwhelming 47 pages when the Oekaki Moderator position opened.
On October 20, the thread was locked and applying was closed. Good luck to all who submitted a form, we all can't wait to see who the new additions to the CS team are!
New November Staff Litter
By Kiki
By Kiki
- November is a wonderful time for monthly pets. Why? Because of the staff dog litter! Every year each person on the Chicken Smoothie staff makes one dog outcome, usually reflecting their personal style or even interests. These dogs are all tied together by the same colour scheme. They also all have the same rarity, which is understandable, since each and every one displays the creativity of the staff and has pure hard work poured into them.
This year the colour scheme seems to be different shades of purple and mellow yellow/orange. According to the adopting page, this will be the biggest litter yet stemmed from this tradition! With the growing staff population, it is sure to contain lots of variety.
This tradition dates all the way back to November 2009, when the colour scheme was soft, jade-like green and burgundy. There were 11 outcomes in this litter, with sometimes very crazy lineart edits (for example, Malk's monster dog). The November 2010 litter had 13 outcomes and featured a palette of brown and teal. Included in this litter was equimagine's PPS dinosaur pet, which surprisingly stirred up a lot of the community. There was a bit of a buzz of criticism in the pet discussion area about the lineart edits of the pet.
What users have to say:
Tallykat wrote:I like to think that the annual pet is a kinda temporary fursona for each staff member for that year. Makes me giggle a little
AlbinoBroccoli wrote:I am so excited for this year's litter, and I'm hoping to notice some patterns and guess the artist of each pup as it grows. There seems to be an unwritten, mildly competitive game to see who can get the artist right first. It helps to look at past years for guessing, as the artists can have certain patterns and styles that they deliberately recreate each year. I've noticed that Malk has made mutant-like creatures with heavy line edits, and Moonflight has given her outcomes spike-tufted ears in both 2009 and 2010. Just some hints for other users. C;
CodyCorgi wrote:[favourite thing about staff litters] Creativity! the litters are ALWAYS creative :3
KayleeBanana wrote:I really love being able to see all of our staff collaborate together to create a single litter. During the year, usually only one person works on a single litter, so its interesting to see the different ideas and styles that all of the artists bring to the table to create completely different outcomes from the same blanket.
~Stanatic~ wrote:I'm pretty excited about this year's litter being the biggest yet, although this inevitably means missed outcomes xD
AlbinoBroccoli wrote:I enjoy that we get to see a collection of various artists' styles, and it also shows just how big and great CS is by the number of outcomes each year and the amazing designs that come from it, as well as the idea of collaboration of the CS staff to make one big litter. It certainly makes me feel thankful to have such an amazing team on this site. I also love the fact that there is a color palette of only two basic colors, as it seems like a challenge to make designs out of them.
KayleeBanana wrote:I'm really excited about this year's litter. In my opinion, the combination of purple and orange has a lot of potential for some really great designs. I'm also hoping that Malk will be able to pull off another incredible edit-heavy creation to amaze us all with and I'm excited to see what bouquetblu and Yulynh have for us as well, since they're newer.
Favourite '09 staff litter pets?
Oh, I love them all, but my favorite design is probably Compumon's contribution, the one with the uneven ears and bobtail. There's too much to say about the design itself so I think I'll just leave it at that. :)
My favorite staff pet from 09' is this beauty:
Malk. That one spoke to me... I had a dream about It...
Ooh, that's a tough one. Since I'm partial to line art edits, I'll have to say either the Long-Tailed Dog or the Malk Mutant.
What about '10?
I really like Moonflight's design, because of the complex layers of spots and waves on the pet. You can tell a lot of thought and effort was put into the design. Plus, the spike-tufted ears are really cool.
The Kaycee dog. ^_^ I love how whimsical the coloring on this dog is; it reminds me of the soft glow of Christmas lights and fairies.
My favorite staff pet from 10' is this pup:
Again, Malk. Another ome that really spoke to me :3
CS Guides Wiki
by Kiki
by Kiki
- Guides are useful. Very useful. They are also scattered around everywhere on the forums and are extremely hard to find. This can cause people lots of valuable time spent looking for a specific guide, or accidentally making a double of a guide which already exists. Thus, the new CS Guides Wiki! This Wiki, courtesy of Nick and any writer of a CS Guide, is a sort of database for user-written guides pertaining to every possible topic on CS. If you have a question that is not the sort to be addressed in the FAQ, your best bet is to head to this Wiki (link here).
This feature is very useful and contains everything from an in depth walk-through of the oekaki, to guides on just about every pet name out there. However, this Wiki is still a works in progress and is sure to face a lot of updates in the coming weeks.
The CS Pet Spotlight
If you have a CS pet that is dressed creatively, has an important meaning to you or is in any way special, send in your submission for next issue's pet spotlight! There are really no guidelines, as long as there is something that sets this pet apart from others. For example, if you have a pet that has on a particularly snazzy outfit, you can send in a submission. If you have a pet that has a unique story behind it, you can send in a submission. Anything goes!
To get your pet featured send in the form by PM to me, Kiki.Mirage. If your pet gets featured you get a little trophy for your signature!
Form:
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Congratulations to this issue's winner, Fufluffy! I thought this was a cute and humorous entry. C:
If you wish to re-submit an entry, simply PM me the original quoted form or a link to the form (if posted in the comments).
To get your pet featured send in the form by PM to me, Kiki.Mirage. If your pet gets featured you get a little trophy for your signature!
Form:
- Code: Select all
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Pet's Picture:[/b]
[b]Why is this pet special?:[/b]
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Congratulations to this issue's winner, Fufluffy! I thought this was a cute and humorous entry. C:
If you wish to re-submit an entry, simply PM me the original quoted form or a link to the form (if posted in the comments).
Flufluffy wrote:Username:
Flufluffy
Pet's Picture:
(His name is Harry)
Why is this pet special?:
It all began when I get a bunny suit, and saw this dog. Because this dog looks very grumpy, would the bunny suit fits him the best. The great outfit for this dog! :D
Harry is one of my favorite pets, he's very special to me, because I love his expression in his bunny suit. I also don't know when I named him Harry yet. :s
I love Harry so much, I even made a drawing of him, in his bunny suit:
XXX
Questions, Concerns or Ideas?
Have any questions about the Times? An awesome idea for a feature or article? PM me with it, I will always reply! Also, if you make a banner or stamp PM me with it and I will put it up here.
Official CS Times Banners And Stamps
Do you like the CS Times? Support the Times by putting these in your signature!
If you want to make us a banner, go ahead! <3 I'll be more than glad to add it in here.
By Vampiric
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[url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=54330][img]http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8260/cstimes.png[/img][/url]
By Wolfie (same for banner below)
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[url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=9697][img]http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq345/Sootstar_/csbanner.png?t=1238975835[/img][/url]
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[url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=9697][img]http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq345/Sootstar_/csbanner-1.gif?t=1238975989[/img][/url]
I love the idea! And its stickied! XD
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