The Can't Stop The Serenity promotional art contest is back for 2012! In its six-year history, Can't Stop The Serenity has raised more than half a million dollars for Equality Now. We can do even more good works this year, but only if people show up! That's where you come in. Since we've been doing this for more than half a decade now, the novelty factor has worn off, which means it's more important than ever before to build excitement for CSTS. The logo, poster and t-shirts are critical tools for raising awareness about the event, building excitement, and getting people into theaters around the world. Think you've got what it takes to design this year's official artwork? Then read on to learn the rules for this year's contest: THE SHINY STUFF: The winner’s artwork will be used as the basis for the T-shirt, poster and promos for the 2012 CSTS season. Additionally, the winner’s artwork will be featured prominently throughout our website and social media outlets. THE (ABBREVIATED) RULES: All artwork you submit must be your own. If you plan to incorporate any stock imagery in your entry, you must have documentation showing that you have permission to use and reproduce it. It should go without saying, but we'll say it anyway. Don't use copyrighted artwork in your submission. Because this is about Equality Now and Peace in the ‘Verse, there should be no overt violence portrayed within the art. The winner’s artwork will be used by CSTS for the purposes

This weekend will be as big as Texas as the Austin Browncoats present a whole weekend of Serenity fun! CSTS Austin kicks off on Saturday with events at 12PM, 5PM and 10PM, and wraps up on Sunday at 12PM.

Life can get pretty crazy these days, and it can be hard to find your place, let alone find the strength to take a stand in the world and create change. With that in mind, Joss has shared his advice for surviving high school at RookieMag.com and (not surprisingly) it's both insightful and witty. But it's not just good advice for high schoolers. These pearls of Joss-y wisdom can be applied to anyone, anywhere. So if you or someone you know are starting out in a new school, new place, are worried about fitting in or just need some inspiration, here are Joss's four rules for survival... I went to the same school, with the same people, for 10 years. I knew everyone—including the teachers, as my mother taught history there. In the middle of tenth grade my mother took a sabbatical abroad and I found myself going from Riverdale Country School, in the Bronx, to Winchester College, a 600-year-old all-male boarding school in southern England. I had never traveled alone. I had barely left the house. Also, I was quite small. Winchester is timelessly beautiful, famously academic and a bastion of blithe cruelty. Everyone else was used to this; I was the only new kid. Older boys relentlessly bullied younger, and teachers (called “dons”) bullied everyone, often physically. All the students, even boys younger than I, knew each other and came from the same social strata. The school had its own language—literally; there was book of “notions” to be memorized and tested. A

Do you or someone you know want to help guide Can't Stop the Serenity towards a bright future? Nominations are open for roles on the Global Steering Committee and Global Team. Can't Stop the Serenity is organised entirely by volunteers who work side by side with local event organisers to make each year's events a success. We're looking for dedicated, passionate, talented folks to join us. It's fun, rewarding and a great experience! Nominations are now open, and will be taken until 18 September 2011. The application process for each position is provided via the links below. Applications must be submitted via email to gsc@cantstoptheserenity.com by the closing date. The following roles are open for nominations: Global Steering Committee (4 positions) 2012 Global Event Coordinator and Team Roles Global System Administrator Voters will have the opportunity to discuss the nominations and ask questions of the nominees from 19-25 September 2011, and voting will be undertaken from 26-30 September 2011. The successful nominees will be announced on 4 October 2011. New team members will be paired up with volunteers from the outgoing GSC/Global Team for 3 months (October-December) so that they can pick up as much as they can before taking charge. After that time, the members of the GSC will support them as much as they can. Volunteers will be provided with access to the Global Organisation forum, which details the various tasks for each role and provides informa

Can you believe that the incredible volunteers for Can't Stop the Serenity have organised over 300 events over 6 years, and raised over $600,000 for Equality Now? It's mindblowing! To mark this fantastic occasion, we'd like to interview you - the CSTS Supporters - about your CSTS experience and what keeps you coming back. Can you believe that there are Browncoats out there that have never heard of CSTS? Firefly & Serenity continues to bring in new fans, and we'd like to help them understand what it is that inspires Browncoats to support CSTS. To that end, we've got a couple of quick questions for you, and if you can take a few minutes to answer we'd be ever so grateful. 1. When was your first CSTS? 2. How many times have you seen Serenity? 3. Who's your favorite Firefly character and why? 4. What does being a Browncoat mean to you? 5. Why do you support CSTS and Equality Now? Please email your response to info@cantstoptheserenity.com with the subject "CSTS Supporter Interview", or post them below. We'll be posting the interviews on our website over the coming months to inspire, encourage and excite fans across the world. To ensure your privacy, we will only be attributing responses to a first name and general location (eg. Joe from California). If you would like be recognised by a screen name or remain anonymous, please let us know. Thank you for your continued support, and for being so awesome!

Social media and social networking are a fantastic way to spread the signal about Can't Stop the Serenity and Equality Now, and we need to get that signal broadcast as widely as possible. To encourage more folks to follow our twitter feed and Like our facebook page, our Global Steering Committee Chair has pledged 5c to Equality Now for each CSTS twitter follower and CSTS Facebook Page like we have on 30 September (up to $500). So... If we have 4000 @CSTS twitter followers on 30 Sept, that's a donation $200 to EN. If we have 4000 CSTS facebook page likes on 30 Sept, that's a donation $200 to EN. We need your help to promote this far and wide! Follow/Like us and spread the signal!