Mudboy Slim: Here's my second of 3 posts listing our entrants, with hyperlinks. I posted the 100 series finalists in post 387 above.
In the region 101 - 299 series I select 6 finalists:
136 (DaisyScarlett), 180 (Kayak), 206 etc. (Flyer's schtick), 216 (Diver Dave's mudhut!?? HUH??), 221 (Lodwick), 252 (GailA)
Before I analyze the entries, I provide a little catch-up on some interesting sagas in the section:
Post 115 -- jwfiv tries to bribe the judges with chump change!! This should be a TOTAL disqualification!! In post 118, you note the slim pickings so far: "Thanks fer the battered quarter...it's the biggest bribe I've received so far." Did these guys think we were JOKING about bribes? Sigh. At 142, Billie helpfully suggests to jwfiv that to go with his bribe, he might want to add a house! With this motivation at hand, during the rest of the thread we see jwfiv learn to post pictures! See, e.g., Post 279. See Mud, it's easy!!
Then in 128 lodwick tries to give you a SUV. That's *not* gonna work -- where's MY SUV!! That's a real problem for me. At 160 Billie notes that "loddy has the hang of this bribing." Uh-uh, not if Loddy didn't bribe me. I hate to seem petty about it, but, well, I am! :D Jokingly, of course.
At Post 163, xJones issues an expert and very good bribe -- how she'll fly us all to Texas and give us beanie-babies. As a bribe, this has several virtues. It's generous. It's fanciful and humorous. Her post indicates that she has read the intro, is mindful that you are drunk and have only half a brain, and so her bribe is calibrated accordingly. A+ for the bribing here.
Beginning at post 169, and continuing at __, __, and __, Aquamarine and Flyer engage in a humorous colloquy about just want it is that its out in front of Aquamarine's gingerbread house -- Flyer's golden retriever? Something the dog left? I think this humorous discussion reflects well on both of them, if humor counts.
At 173, you post your link to Christmas lyrics. THANKS!!
At 177, kayak gives us 2 cookies. Hmm. Just 2. Good cookies. But just 2. Hmm. Nope, not a big enough bribe to convert her prior entry to finalist status.
Also, at 141, you note xJones' pretzels aren't chocolate-covered. I kinda liked the au natural look for the pretzels at the xJones house at Post 44. ::shrugging:: Well, on to the analysis of entries.
Post 136 Daisy Scarlett gives us a whole town, including a church. Hmm, I'm thinking I just can't tell what that thing is in the lower right corner, and wouldn't that stop this from being a finalist, but then she adds the lovely disappearing gingerbreadman cookie at the end. That's a bribe. It's a good bribe. It's dutifully delivered to both judges. It was delicious. I say it worked. Finalist.
Post 180 Kayak's White House gingerbread, parlaying on the excellent work of our nation's greatest pastry chef. This is a keeper! Now we remember with fondness of the plate of 2 cookies in post 177. Finalist status, pending investigation as to whether this house is a Clinton-era or a Bush-era house. If it's a Clinton-era house, automatic disqualification.
Post 206 Flyer's lovely red-and-green photograph -- showing the golden retriever with the crumbs, all with a big red circle around the green grass. How seasonal this choice of colors!! "The crumbs are indeed proof that it did exist" is the claim. LOL. I keep thinking: given how good all the entries are, wouldn't it be right to annoy *everyone* equally and pick Flyer? This stuff is funny . . . . At Post 213, Mud, you say: "That looks like "Oodles of Noodles," not gingerbread, my FRiend. If we don't see a notarized deposition from yer dog attesting that yer alleged RamenNoodleHouse looks as you have described, I'm tempted to disqualify yer entry." 1:13 PM EST. Flyer responds without delay at
Post 211 Lodwick's drawing of a real gingerbread house, circa 1869. Plus: the American flag, the reality of it all. Drawback: the reality of it all.
Post 215 Diver Dave's mudhut. Replete with a written description of all that went wrong in trying to do a better house. Now, this is funny. And Mud, it's close whether it's not in the holiday spirit sufficiently to be a finalist ("we've got a new entry on the leaderboard"), but I've already seen your emphatic praise of it. And it does have a good conservative political message. So finalist. And as Diver Dave points out, there's nothing left in his account for a bribe, so we can't hold that against him. As Flyer notes in post 232, "we need to FReep someone! Gingerbread regulation is out of control!"
Post 221 Lodwick's the third time's the charm! How can we not include this beautiful gingerbread Eiffel tower in the contest? It's a finalist. Although before it's gonna be a winner, someone's going to have to get over my Issues with the French not being sufficiently behind us on the war on terrorism. Note post 230 -- same house from a different view, noting the suds and adding that this lady "needs to quit messing with the gingerbread and quickly go check on the washing machine." LOL.
Post 247 GailA's church is simply breathtaking. Finalist. Definitely. Claims to have waited and searched the web hard for the right one. Can't doubt it. But GailA I like your 252 EVEN MORE -- so that one I put on the finalist list. But alone this would ahve made it too.
Post 251 Another entry by GailA. Kinda dimly lit -- makes it sort of depressing. Also, that blue color on the house is not a color I'm used to seeing on gingerbread houses. I don't like it as much as the church. The Christmas wreaths on the hosues are really cute -- hard to tell from the photo what kind of candy they are. I must also confess that I'm aware of the inventory of houses from gingerbreadlane.com, and that the Eiffel tower entry beat you to this website. Ok, lol, I'll stop. This house actually I don't like for whatever reason.
Post 252 Mudboy, this is one I am REALLY excited about too. It's a beautiful house with an American flag, a well, landscaping, a porch, kids in the hard, lovely lovel ygreen trees. And in the backdrop in this clear photo you can see the real Christmas tree decorated. Look at the details! The lovely evergreen garland on the porch. This is the American gingerbread house entry. I think it's a finalist. If you had to force me to choose between GailA's entries alone, this one would beat out GailA's 247 because this one speaks of home, family, and home for the holidays. That's more "gingerbready" to my lights.
Post 253 Mixer's "real" house with a link to the story. This is a great house, and thanks and we all love you. But it's not a lot about gingerbread except in name. But it's a great story and I enjoyed the link!
Post 291 Jwfix, this is your first posting of a graphic image, is it not! Congratulations! I hope that will be enough praise for this lovely photo, because as I hope you suspect, it's not a finalist pretty much for the reasons that you noted on your post -- it's not really about gingerbread. It's "not so magically delicious as some of the other goodies on this thread, but I always think of Hansel and Gretel when I see a gingerbread house." LOL -- nice tie-in. Points for trying, but no cigar! :)