Fresh from the North Pole comes “PNP” or Portable North Pole. The website that brings Santa Claus right into kids’ (and grown-ups’) worlds through the magic of technology.

The website allows personalised videos to be created so that Santa Claus addresses the receiver by name, and names the good (or bad) deeds they have done throughout the year. Then, a madly pedalling elf  starts a frenzy of excitement in Sanata’s Village, as he powers the “Verdict Machine ” which finally concludes if you are on the dreaded Naughty or most desirable Nice list, this year.

Yes, it’s all a lot of holiday fun – ho ho ho – but the best news is that every year PNP release a free video so that nobody will go without the wonderment of Santa. This year’s free video is set to come out any November day, now. For those who wish to upgrade the thrills to a premium video that gives more personalisation options, there are all kinds of fabulous packages and bundles to help you get giving, and 5% of all web sales will go to a participating children’s hospital near you.

PNP has partnered with Mater Little Miracles in Brisbane and the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, this year, so Australian users of the website will be helping put smiles on more than one child’s face. Money that is raised during the holiday period will go to these worthy causes.

So, what are you waiting for? Get into the jingle bells spirit and head over to www.portablenorthpole.com  

Cut & Paste is a global design competition for the most creative minds in design across the world. The competition was launched in Sydney in 2007 when over 1000 people packed into the Metro Theatre to watch the live creative design process. This years’ Cut&Paste in partnership with Autodesk and Wacom is going to be even better with designers battlin’ to given themes and time limits live on stage! Their work will be web cast globally and projected in real-time for the live Cut&Paste audience.

This years’ event features a hat trick of 2D, 3D, and Motion Design competitions in sixteen cities worldwide,  across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, San Francisco, Toronto, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Milan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo and we want you involved! The 2009 tour takes Cut&Paste over, across, and around the world in just over a hundred days, then flying back to New York for the grand finale, the debut of an international showdown between champions.

This years Cut&Paste is back at the Metro Theatre on Saturday, June 6.

Get your tickets here.

From the creators of The Liquid Kitchen series, Beer Nuts and Good Wine, Bad Language, Great Vineyards comes the latest in thirst quenching titles – Café Republic of Australia . Dust up on your coffee, tea and chocolate skills with Scottie Callaghan – Australia Barista Champion and World Latte Art Champion, while getting a hot dose of the personal stories from 30 odd Aussie café personalities.

We have four (4) of these wonderful books to giveaway thanks to our friends at Cafe Republic of Australia. If you would like to win one of these books, please email your name, postal address & a brief 30 words on why you should win one of these fabulous books to info (.)au Competition closes Sunday, 18th January 2008.

This is not your typical coffee or tea book – there’s swearing, some nudity and to put it plainly, the coarse grind of daily life of a café republican exposed. How hard is it to make it in the café business? You’ll find the inside stories in this book. The rich hot topical stories of the people who serve it up every day for Aussies are here for reading. There isn’t a word that has been fluffed up. As the cover suggests; it’s a ‘walk tall act staunch’ Australian café culture exposé.

(more…)

We had a wonderful response to the Newcastle tickets giveaway & the winners are in. The winners are: –

M. Haertsch – Newcastle, NSW
C. Abouchar – Surry Hills, NSW
M. Hopkins – Berefield, NSW
M. Richa – Sydney, NSW
W. Zheng – Erskineville, NSW
K. Hatch – Melbourne, VIC
E. Bakkalis – Dingley Village, VIC
M. Charters – Glenelg, SA
T. Parker – Hervey Bay, QLD
M. Went – Canberra, ACT

Well done to you all & the tickets will be with you this week. Thank you to everyone that entered the competition.

Surfer Jesse (Lachlan Buchanan) lives in the shadow of his bitter half brother Victor (Reshad Strik) an ex-surf champion and the local bad boy. With the local surf pro fast approaching, Jesse and his mates plan a trip away with some local girls for a weekend of surfing and partying in the dunes. When Victor and his gang arrive at the isolated beach and decide to claim the surf break, an unofficial surf contest ensues and tragedy unfolds.

Two Flat Whites in conjunction with Newcastle, the Australian surf film is giving away 10 double passes to see the movie. So if you would like to win the tickets, simply email us at info

Good luck! Competition closes Tuesday, 28th October 2008.

Newcastle – only at the movies 6th November 2008.

www.newcastlemovie.com

It’s winter & summertime is just around the corner and the livin’ is easy. But relationships can be hard. So share your rants or kudos about MEN at TheNovelette.com writing contest — MEN.

Short stories about loves lost, he done you wrong, you done him wronger, triangulated loves, relationship ups and downs — the list is endless and so are some (but not all) love stories. In any case, MEN is the theme so let us hear your tale.

They’ve extended the deadline to enter the contest and to vote on entries, to the 30th August 2008, and they’ll have winners posted shortly thereafter.

Write an essay or short story and send it in! Professionals, freelancers, bloggers and aspiring writers are invited to submit a 500- to 750-word memoir, essay or story. Submissions will be judged in two categories — by popular online vote and by our editorial panel of professional writers.

Winners in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate to Barnes&Noble.com or Amazon.com– $50 certificate if one submission wins BOTH! AND . . . a virtual blue ribbon award from thenovelette.com to post on your website and/or include as part of your email signature.

Check it out @ thenovelette.com , where you can submit your entry or vote for your favorite. And hey, dish it out girls!

Thanks to Web Directions South , Design Federation and Web Directions are offering one lucky reader the chance to attend the Web Directions South Conference in Sydney on September 23 – 26th.

The competition is drawn on the 21st August 2008. This prize is valued at $1050 and is

“A definite must have for any web professional.”
Dmitry Baranovskiy, Freelance web developer

So how do you enter this amazing comp? Just go to the Design Federation website right here .

Two Flat Whites is proud to continue it’s support of the Apex Australia Teenage Fashion Awards which encourages excellence in high school and secondary college students undertaking studies in design, manufacture and modelling their own fashion garments.

This competition is an opportunity for students to develop their talent, self esteem, ability to set and achieve goals, and to improve self confidence. As well as providing inspiration and growth to some entrants, to others it has been a stepping-stone into the world of fashion and design. Many past winners and finalists have progressed into the fashion industry, some to great heights, creating their own fashion labels while others have won scholarships to work in large fashion houses around the world.

The State Finals are underway with the Gold Coast hosting the glamour event & showing off the talents of the students in the sunny state last night. Check your local guides for upcoming events. The national final will be held in October 2008. Good luck to everyone!

The Mega Month of May giveaways continue at Two Flat Whites with our friends at Princess Fashion House getting onboard. All Two Flat Whites readers that wish to purchase items from Princess Fashion House will automatically receive 15% off by simply placing the key word ‘princess’ in the code when making your purchase.

We also have a $100 shopping voucher for one lucky person to win. To win this $100 shopping voucher simply go to Princess Fashion House & go to the Fashion Events Tab.

Email your name & postal address along with one event listed in the ‘Fashion Events Tab’ at Princess Fashion House to info to be in the running for the $100 shopping voucher. Entries close on Saturday, 31st May, 2008. Winners will be published on Two Flat Whites the next day!