I have a crappy blogger blog called the One Dollar Challenge. The blog is all about my attempts to use a free blog to generate one whole dollar of revenue a day. I've had a reader ask if I could make the blogger template I use on that site available for download. So in the spirit of community, I have. The idea behind this blogger template was that for the One Dollar Challenge I wanted something simple that would incorporate space for adsense ads as well as other links that could potentially be used to make some extra cash. So that is how the Swollen Pickles Adsensitized Blogger Template came to be.

The template is available for download below in a *.txt file. I've tried to keep it as simple as possible. All you need to do is look through it, and replace all the marked up sections with your own adsense code, links and any other content you may want in your side bar. Pretty simple really. Use it as you like, all I ask is that you keep a link back to this site somewhere on your page.

I'm not a programmer or anything so there maybe 'coding' mistakes or some things may look odd, but the template works for me. If you want to see a working example visit the One Dollar Challenge blogger site. Have fun.

Download here (right click, then 'save as')

YouTube is cool. Self promotion and all that. The free hugs campaign has hit Oprah. Kids love it. But now YouTube seems to have taken the place of the ye olde Church confessional. I signed up at pay per post a while back to see if it's work for me. It's one of those "paid to blog" sites. Anyway, they have started up online confessionals for their employees. Bizarre stuff.

I'm not sure the online workplace confessional is going to take off. In any case, I think the pay per post people need to give this chick some time off. » Read the rest of the entry..

Children of Men is described as a dystopian thriller. Set in the year 2027 the future looks bleak. The entire human race has become infertile and no one knows why. All hope seems to be lost. Anti-depressants and suicide solutions are dispensed on a mass scale. The youngest person on the planet is 18 years of age. Terrorism and war seem commonplace. Britain remains the sole survivor, and even then, is only a shadow of what it once was. The government maintains control by ruling the people with an iron fist. Internment/refugee camps are packed to capacity as Britain attempts to hold back the waves of refugees trying to enter the only country still retaining a twisted sense of humanity. Did I mention that the future looks bleak?

When we first meet the main character, Theo (played by Clive Owen), he is a public servant overrun by apathy. It's not until he is kidnapped by a terrorist group, known as the Fishes, that his life starts to regain some meaning. It's here he is re-united with his ex-wife, played by Julianne Moore, and leader of the Fishes. She has a job for him. Simple. Provide the Fishes with travel documentation for a young woman, called Kee, who must flee Britain. When red tape forces Theo to escort Kee to the border himself, the duo, along with a middle aged midwife, are betrayed and relentlessly pursued across Britain by both the law and terrorists.

Clive Owen really stands out in this film as he plays what could possibly be the first public servant action hero committed to film. Children of Men is not just an action film. It's dark and deep. There's a lot to be taken in. Theo's journey leads him to reclaim elements of his humanity that he had long given up. Ultimately the journey ends with him being reborn as a human being. It is fairly safe to say that I found this film "thought provoking".

Did I enjoy this movie? Hell yes. Probably the best movie I have seen in the past 12 months. Children of Men echoes thrillers such as North by Northwest as well as post apocalyptic films such as 28 Days Later. In short, see it ASAP.

There's a new Tickle Me Elmo in town, just in time for Christmas! This time it's Tickle Me Elmo Xtreme. The new and improved Elmo is called TMX Elmo. What's different about this new Tickle Me Elmo you ask? Well isn't it obvious? This new Elmo is Xtreme! The new Elmo TMX doll rolls around on the floor laughing and begs you to stop tickling him.

Perhaps the most extreme thing about the new Tickle Me Elmo is the reaction it's causing with consumers.

"As with the original Ticke Me Elmo doll, demand for the new toy has given rise to extreme acts by some people. One person in Tampa, Florida was allegedly threatened with a gun to hand over a TMX toy."

That sounds like that terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas movie, Jingle All The Way... damn that movie sucked. Anyway, I'd hate to get wacked over an Elmo doll! At $39.99 US surely there will be plenty to go around! » Read the rest of the entry..

Stephanie McIntosh, Neighbours starlet and wannabe pop-rock star released her first album a while back. Can't actually recall any of the reviews, and don't recall hearing any of her stuff on the radio. From what I can gather, she's trying to go?for the whole Avril Lavigne/Veronicas style chick rock thing.

I'd heard about her live performance on the Footy Show Grand Final show. Well... when I say I 'heard' about it, all I've heard is how terrible it was. Thought I'd look it up on YouTube today and find out for myself. After listening to her performance (well the 30 seconds of it I heard before my ears started bleeding), all I can say is?I'm sure?the producer that worked on the album was?glad he'd forked out all that cash for the AutoTune software.?I'm also not convinced that?it's a great idea to sing along with your backing track if you can't keep in tune with your 'backing vocals'.

I think she can be greatful that Kyle Sanderlands wasn't judging this performance! Anyway, here it is, Stephanie McIntosh, LIVE...?

edit: I had to find another version of the video, apparently the original got removed from YouTube. Probably not something her record company would want to have floating out there!

Bean Bag Boy has me playing God of War on PS2. You are basically this little dude that runs around with a couple of swords slicing and dicing your way through a whole heap of demon things. Actually they may not technically be swords, they don’t look that long… how long does a dagger or knife have to be before it is considered a sword? So far the game annoys me. Besides the fact that you can rip things in half and fling demon dudes from the end of your swords, the game is starting to annoy me. I’d rather play NBA Live 2006, are you reading this Bean Bag Boy?? NBA Live 2006, lets go!

After watching Kenny on Sunday, I decided to give another Aussie comedy a go on Tuesday night. Sadly, I probably should have quit whilst I was ahead.

BoyTown is the story of a middle aged guys reforming their once popular boy band. Most of the humour comes from watching a bunch of mid 40 year old gents dancing around trying to recapture the New Kids on the Block style magic that had made them such a hit in the 80's. The sting in the tail comes when they decided to target there music toward their now middle aged fan base. Their reformed hits include songs about dropping kids off at school, sharing the remote control and how sensitive they are to a woman's special time of the month.

The concept itself is a perfect set up for a lot of laughs, and with Mick Molloy, Glenn Robbins and Bob Franklin (as well as the occasional appearance from Tony Martin), a lot of laughs are exactly what I had expected. Unfortunately, beside a few gentle chuckles, the gags are very few and far between. The highlights of the film for me were the few scenes featuring the Grandma of Mick Molloy's character.

How does it compare to Kenny? Well, it doesn't really. BoyTown and Kenny are worlds apart in terms of their humour and execution. Where as Kenny seemed fresh, BoyTown felt stale. In short, BoyTown could have been a whole lot better. Wait for DVD.