Alma Mater to Give Away an iPod in a Musical Scavenger Hunt
This June, Alma Mater will be giving away an to a dedicated reader; the iPod will be a a 2 GB nano, currently valued at $149, although the winner may specify an alternate prize. In order to win the iPod, a reader must search the comic for references and mentions pertaining to music, finding more references than any other reader. If you would like to take part in the contest, please read the following (thorough, and hopefully fair) rules.
Submission of Entries – Format and Dates
I am expecting a large number of entries, and will need contestants’ cooperation to keep things organized. Thus, entries MUST be emailed to almamatercomic@gmail.com using the following format; if your entry doesn’t follow this format, it will be voidable, meaning that I may ignore it at my discretion.
From: You
To: almamatercomic@gmail.com
Subject: iPod Contest, Reference Count = X
1. [Reference 1]
2. [Reference 2]
…
X-1. [Reference X-1]
X. [Reference X]
I will be accepting entries until midnight (Pacific Time) on June 8th, one week after the spring “semester” ends on June 1st. Although contestants may email their entries as early as possible, I do not recommend this, since they will be at a disadvantage if they do not include references from later strips. However, this does not mean that readers should procrastinate; the best approach would be to keep track of references as they appear over the course of the next few months.
Definitions and Guidelines – Musical References
I will give credit to contestants who spot references to particular musicians, songs, or musical works in Alma Mater. References may be listed for any comic posted during Alma Mater's run.
A “musician” is defined as an individual or group whose fame is substantially derived from musical activities, encompassing both performance and writing. For example, although Fred Astaire is primarily known as a dancer, he would count as a “musician” because he also sang in the musicals that made him famous. However, Renée Zellweger would not count as a “musician” even though she sang in Chicago, as singing has been incidental to her career.
A “musical work” is an opera, musical, or album; it is a discrete piece of art consisting of various songs. However, songs must be integral to the larger work. Thus, even though most movies have soundtracks, a movie would not be considered a “musical work” unless it was a musical.
Generic references that don’t show a sufficient connection to a musician or work will not be considered. For example, even though De Stijl (comic #44) is the title of a White Stripes album, it would not count as a reference to the title, as the name is clearly meant to evoke the artistic movement, and there is nothing to suggest that the title might also refer to the album.
Finally, a single line or image might invoke two separate works or musicians; for example, a reference may be made to a song which itself is referencing another song or musician. Similarly, the same song or musician may be referenced multiple times in the same comic. In both instances, these should count as multiple references.
Judging and Announcements
I am keeping a running tally of all the musical references to appear in Alma Mater. Once the deadline has passed, I will look at the entries with the highest reference count, and make sure that each reference is correct; if, after scrutiny, an entry’s reference count is still the highest, that entry wins. To receive the prize, the winning entry must have a minimum of 15 references, as there will be at least 15 easy references.
Like the SATs, I will not deduct points for a wrong answer, so it is in readers’ best interest to submit guesses for borderline references. It should also be noted that, since readers are effectively competing against each other, references that are too obscure will have no practical effect on the competition, as nobody will mention them and they won’t count “against” any competitor. However, in the interest of transparency, I will post my complete list of references shortly after the June 8th deadline.
If there is a tie, I will select the winner using a fair method of my choosing. I might just pull the winner’s name out of a hat, but I might also do something more involved like having the contestants answer trivia questions about the comic. If the number of references in the tied entries is particularly high, I will probably be more likely to use a non-random method of choosing a winner.
Once a winner has been determined, I will email that individual, and I will send the prize to him or her as soon as I can. Unless the winner indicates that he or she would prefer to remain anonymous, I will announce the winner’s name or nickname, along with the number of references found by him or her; if the winner is anonymous, I will just announce the reference count.
Alternate Prize
If the winner wishes to upgrade the prize to a more expensive iPod, a pair of iPod shuffles, or a Zune, he or she must pay the difference between the stipulated prize and the desired prize, with taxes taken into account. Additionally, the winner and I must reach a separate agreement over email; winners under 18 must have an adult make this agreement on their behalf.
Miscellaneous
In order to win, a reader should be disciplined enough to find the easy references and clever enough to catch the more subtle or obscure ones.
I am explicitly allowing contestants to use search engines when searching for references. There is no way for me to police search engine use, and I would put conscientious people at a disadvantage if I was silent about the issue.
I will post a hint about one of the references in the Alma Mater forums.
Readers may discuss references in the Alma Mater forums or elsewhere; however, it is obviously not in contestants’ best interests to divulge the references that they have discovered. I will not answer any questions about references until the contest is over.
Good luck! I hope that people enjoy participating in this contest, and that it helps people to take a more in-depth look at Alma Mater.
