We’re on a Star Wars theme with our giveaways right now, so how about a Star Wars themed art challenge?

Andy wants to you to create a Desert Bus-themed Star Wars-themed droid. Up for grabs is an official Desert Bus 9 T-Shirt!

Send your submissions to contests@desertbus.org with “Desert bus droid” in the subject line. Be sure to include the name or handle by which you’d like to be announced on air should your submission win. We’ll be taking submissions until 9:50 AM PST.

The force is strong with this Donation Drive… and well, that’s probably because this sweet The Dark Side – Star Wars painting is up for grabs.

Donate $7.15 (or multiples thereof) for a chance to win this painting. We’ll run this donation drive until shortly after 7:50 AM PST.

During Andy’s shift, we asked you to submit your Shakespearian sonnets about dinosaurs. Here’s the winning sonnet and runner-up, respectively:

An Ode to Stars & Lovers

By Hunter Esquire

When ‘neath the jewel lit sky we lied,
Your reptile eyes bewitching mine,
Running fingers though your spines
I held you close as we both spied.

That across the night, now blazing red.
The wind began to burn and bluster,
Filling hearts with endless dread
And feet as fleet as we could muster.

I ran, my mind in instinct acting
And ducked into a cave to hide
When then I found, my heart redacting
That behind me you had not arrived.

The tears for you were gently falling,
much like the sky did without warning.

Requiem for a Tyrannosaurus Rex

By LandfishAttack

We fight and hunt with tooth and claw,
Primordial battlegrounds we scout and stalk.
The weakest of our kind, the herbivore,
Their fate, unjust, uncouth, they squawk.

Here we stand, so tall, proud and heroic.
Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous,
An age of reptiles: Mesozoic!

Imagine we were a park of sorts,
Corralled together by some feckless twit.
Would he see the reckless fate that he courts?
… A flight of fancy. Forget I said it.

We shall live forever, we’ll never die!
Wait… what is that rock falling from the sky?

Time for another Donation Drive! From now until just after 6:30 AM PST, donate $8.38 (or multiples thereof) for a chance to win these A38 Wireless Headphones and a set of PAX speaker tags.

During Andy’s shift, we asked you to give us your best artistic interpretation of the vampire mythos. Thanks to everyone for your submissions; here’s the winning drawing by Hotliquidjello:

And here’s our honorable mentions…

Check out the rest of the submissions after the jump.

A new sponsor this year is Legacy Books Press, a publisher from Kingston, Ontario that specializes in non-fiction and classics. They are dedicated to exploring those interesting corners of history, both modern and ancient, that tend to be overlooked, but still shaped the world as we know it today. They have kindly supplied sets of Caesar Americanus, The Secret History of Star Wars, and Garwulf’s Corner to Desert Bus 9. Thank you very much Legacy Books Press for your support of the run this year.

What would Shakespearian poetry sound like 65 million years ago? Maybe something like “Rawr rawr rawr ra rawr grawr?” We’ve no idea, but for our next challenge, in honor of this handcrafted Monster Hunting mug, we’ll be looking for your creative suggestions for a Shakespearian sonnet about dinosaurs.

(For convenience, here’s an article on iambic pentameter, which is the rhyming scheme commonly used in Shakespearian sonnets. We had to look this up too.)

Winner gets this handcrafted Monster Hunting mug that’ll conveniently hold 20 ounces of your favorite delicious beverage of choice. You’ve got until 6:09 AM PST to submit your poetry.

Send your submissions to contests@desertbus.org with “Dinosaur Sonnet” in the subject line. Also, please include with your submission the name or handle by which you’d like to be announced on air should your submission win.

RAWR!

In addition to the intense live auctions we have on the stream and in chat, did you also know we have many auctions running 24 hours a day on the web? Throughout the run, be sure to check out the Silent Auctions page for great items you can bid on.

So, what’s going on right now? Here’s the current lots up for auction… click the thumbnail to jump directly to the lot and learn more.

Are you a fan of games of the cardboard, meeple, and dice variety? If you’re looking for a few great games to round out your board game collection, check out this Tabletop prize pack, including games featured on the first three seasons of Tabletop.

Donations of $6.00 (or multiples thereof) get you a chance to win this prize pack. We’ll be running this donation drive until shortly after 3:30 AM PST.

Inspired by the theme behind this lovely The Slayer calligraphy piece, Andy’s started a late night art challenge, and we want to see your interpretation of the vampire mythos. As you might’ve guessed, the winner of this challenge will win this aforementioned calligraphy to keep your home safe of vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness.

This challenge will run until 4:30 AM PST. Send your submissions to contests@desertbus.org with Vampires in the subject line. Please be sure to include in the email the public name you’d like to be called if selected as a winner.

Let the words of this parchment inscribed below inspire you..

Worried about the vampires, demons and other assorted forces of darkness out there ready to break down your door? Post this up as a reminder that you’re safe, ’cause the Slayer’s around. The text is taken from the intro used in seasons one and two of Buffy, and written roughly as you might find it in an old tome of Watcher lore: with a gothic hand, a decorative border, and an illuminated letter (although the gold is ink, not gold leaf). But whether your house is filled with books of arcane wisdom or not, at 12 in x 18 in, this makes an excellent and decoration and talisman on your wall.