Another YouTube contest ... with a PETA twist

Sooner or later, every band launches a YouTube contest.

The Pretenders have gotten on the bandwagon with a new competition that invites fans to upload videos for Boots of Chinese Plastic, a song from Break Up the Concrete. The only requirement is that the clip should highlight your own shoes/boots made of plastic, since the contest is co-sponsored by PETA.

One winner will be flown to Los Angeles to lip-sync the song in the Pretenders' video. The deadline for entry is Feb. 4. Good luck!

Make your own 'Office' attire

When I attended the Office Convention last year in Scranton, Pa., I spotted quite a few homemade T-shirts. Those folks might do well in a new contest on NBC.com, which is calling for fans' original T-shirt designs.

Go there now to read the rules and upload a creation. The grand-prize winner will have his/her shirt sold in the NBC Store and receive 10 free shirts. (They'll also get some swag like Dunder Mifflin shot glasses, Dwight Bobblehead golf balls, a star mug set and more.)

The deadline for submissions is Jan. 29. Good luck, and let us know if your design makes the finals.

Are you a little bit Carl?

Do you walk around in sleeveless undershirts all day and yell at the neighbors? Do you love your car and your classic rock? Are you maybe a little hairy?

You don't have to say "yes" to any of these things to apply for Adult Swim's new contest -- in fact, I hope you don't resemble Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. But right now the network is holding a hilarious "Carl Casting Call" in hopes of finding the most Carl-esque human. The winner will be cast in a special live-action episode of the series.

To enter, head to this website and submit a 30-second video. The deadline is Dec. 1. A few auditions have been posted, if you want to check out the competition. If you ask me, it's not too tough!

A sample of the Carl hopefuls:

Wanna be in a Judd Apatow flick?

The casts in Judd Apatow's movies always seem like a very tight-knit club. How exactly does one get in? Is there a secret password? Does it involve massaging Seth Rogen's feet?

For his new film, Funny People, Apatow is allowing one lucky member of the public into his exclusive comedy machine. Here's how it works: Friend the flick's MySpace profile. Leave a comment (100 words or less) explaining why you should win a walk-on role.

The deadline is Dec. 8, and "winners will be judged on quality of expression, originality and enthusiasm."

Funny People stars Rogen (shocker!), Adam Sandler, RZA, Jason Schwartzman, Aziz Ansari, Jonah Hill and other ... funny people. It's slated for a summer 2009 release.

'Love Me Sexy,' win a prize

The marketing team for Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro really is working overtime. Their latest creation is a contest to create your own music video.

The song is Love Me Sexy, a romantic little ditty crooned by Ferrell's character. The website lets you see the official video, download the song and lyrics, remix the track and upload your clip.

The grand prize is $3,000, an Xbox 360 and a copy of Rock Band Special Edition. Runners-up will get Semi-Pro prize packs. Good luck, and let us know if you win. (Pop Candy readers are notorious for winning contests. Last week I heard from the winner of Vaseline's "guess the celebrity" contest. Awesome!)

Wanna travel with Tony?

As you may have heard, I'm a big fan of all things Anthony Bourdain. Pop reader Megan D., aka lilmeg37, just told me about a new contest where the winner gets to travel with Bourdain while he's shooting his Travel Channel series, No Reservations.

"You have to make a tape telling him where you'd go, what you'd do, what you'd eat, etc.," she explains. "I was so excited I nearly fell out of my chair." That makes two of us.

The deadline to submit an entry is March 15. The winner will be revealed in a special this summer.

A time-waster (with potential reward)

Pop-culture site eBaum's World is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with an online scavenger hunt. The grand prize winner takes home $10,000, and the site is giving away daily prizes of $500. Even if you don't play to win, though, the hunt leads you to some pretty funny videos, like this one of rappin' Thundercats and an Alex Trebek classic that I probably shouldn't link to because it includes several obscenities.

The winner will be chosen Jan. 1, and all of the rules are explained on the main page. Good luck!

Have you heard the big news?

I don't know if you've been following our massive Simpsons contest, but Vermont has been declared the winner! This means The Simpsons Movie will have its premiere in Springfield, Vt., a town of 9,300. I can't wait to see photos of Matt Groening and the gang on a yellow carpet way up north. (By the way, did you notice that page got 20,000 comments? Insane.)

Anyway, in the spirit of The Simpsons, here's a photo of Pop reader Samantha F. hanging out at her 7-Eleven-turned-Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank, Calif. That's Comic Book Guy she's cozying up to ... You can still vote for him in the first round of this other Simpsons contest.

A chat with ... psu_grrly, our avatar winner

On Friday afternoon I called psu_grrly, aka Jackie Shearer, winner of our first-ever reader avatar contest. The Chicago-based Pop Candy reader was very excited to hear she had won and told me a little about herself, her feline-friendly avatar and her obsession with Craigslist:

Me: Congratulations on winning the contest!

psu-grrly: Thank you. This is such an honor, to be the hippest avatar on Pop Candy. I'm telling you, people love cats in frog hats on couches. That's all you need. (Laughs)

So you're in Chicago?

Yes, I'm originally from Pennsylvania, and I'm a transplant to Chicago. I love it.

And what do you do?

I'm an engineer.

If you don't mind, take me through the process of creating your avatar.

You know what? I didn't create it. I can't take credit for it. I'm an avid Craigslist-er. I'm on there all the time, and it was just a picture that someone had used in one of their postings. I just thought it was cool, so I saved it, and I used it as my avatar. I was like, "Every time I look at this, it makes me laugh, so I'm gonna submit it." It was definitely not my creation. I wish it was.

So do you even have a cat?

I have two cats, and I have never tried to put a hat on them, ever!

The captains are in your hands

Have you ever wanted to write Captain Kirk's dialogue? Well, here's your chance: Today a Star Trek contest launches with the help of FanLib.com and former cast members George Takei and Wil Wheaton. Its mission: to create the first official "online fan writing event."

To participate, fans must pen a story with the theme "Kirk vs. Picard." Each week ideas will be voted on and discussed. Takei and Wheaton explain the rules in this video, and you should stay tuned to the website for updates.

Prizes include a trip to Las Vegas, Apple MacBook computers, iPhones and (of course) Star Trek merch. I'm sure Trekkies who've been writing fan fiction for years must be super-psyched!