ENDED! Twitter Car Giveaway - 2005 Black Cherry Pearl Scion XB, Only 44K Miles

The car has been given to a worthy candidate. Please do not send any more requests. Thank you.I'm giving away a beautiful 44,000 miles, 2005 Black Cherry Pearl Scion on Twitter for only $1.

I'm not marketing on giveaway sites. I don't want those kinds of Twitter followers. I really want this car to go to someone needy otherwise I wouldn't give it away. You should only follow me if you also like the idea of people helping others by using Twitter as a tool (or you find me interesting).

Here is a similar car being offered for a little over $10,000 on Auto Trader.

Why am I giving away a CAR?

I paid $12,000 when I bought it three years ago. It has held its value well because I don't drive too much, they don't make this type of Scion anymore, and they are damn cool. The car will be fully paid off in December. I could sell it, trade it in, or give it to one of those organizations for a tax break, but everyday I drive by people waiting for the bus because they cannot afford a car and I feel their pain. My recent children's book, But Who Will Bell the Cats? is about kindness. In the spirit of my book I am offering my car to a person in need for $1.

Finally, the solution to Aesop's age-old question: Who will bell the cats?
Mouse and his friend, Brown Bat, are determined to get out of the basement and into the banquet hall to join the fun and frolicking there. But escape won't be easy with the cats blocking their efforts...It will take many attempts and a surprising solution for Mouse and Bat to succeed. Cynthia von Buhler's enchanted upstairs/downstairs world shows readers the rewards of determination, bravery, and creativity and reminds them of the uncomplicated power of kindness.

I worry about disabled people and people with cancer or debilitating illnesses. I'm concerned for single moms and dads or immigrants who are supporting their families back home. And what about those poor, starving artists who aren't as fortunate as me?

The car is a great size. It's a four seater with plenty of storage space. For new drivers (like me) the car has excellent visibility and it is an automatic. It has a dark interior. Despite a couple of little dents and scratches, the car runs well. I have never had any trouble with it.

Tell me why you need it on Twitter or Facebook.

I'm twitter.com/CynthVonBuhler

By the way, I'll also throw in an older Garmin GPS.

Cheers, Cynthia

PS: If I accidentally crash the car between now and December the deal is off. Wish me luck!

A Video of my Books of Wonder Animatronic Window Display

Thanks to Carl Divito for shooting this video and placing it on YouTube.

Time Out Kids Feature by Elizabeth Bird

Cat fancy
An artist brings her latest feline-centric story to life at Books of Wonder.

Note: The slideshow is now up on the Time Out Kids website. See it HERE.

Called “one of the top contemporary surrealists” by Art & Antiques magazine, Cynthia von Buhler boasts a résumé that includes painting, sculpture, performance and video projection, for which she uses materials and media such as living fauna, collage, and electronic audio. Her art has been published everywhere from The New Yorker to Rolling Stone, but she’s also become renowned for her children’s books.

After working on titles for other authors, beginning with 1998’s Little Girl in a Red Dress with Cat and Dog, Von Buhler—who lives in a castle-like home on Staten Island—has gone on to write and illustrate her own stories. The first, The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside (Houghton Mifflin, 2006), was based on the artist’s encounter with a stray; she created the scenes by photographing dioramas in her childhood dollhouse.

For her next book, But Who Will Bell the Cats? (Houghton Mifflin, 2009), a riff on Aesop’s fable, Von Buhler acted as set builder, painter, sculptor, gardener, plumber and mason. An elaborate concoction of sumptuous interiors photographed in a model castle, the book is impressive in every detail, from the chateau’s real stone walls to the floors she crafted from inlaid wood, mother-of-pearl and plaster.

City kids can visit the world of Bell the Cats this summer, when Von Buhler re-creates the story in Books of Wonder’s storefront, using sets that appear in the book.
Life-size animated characters from the tale, among them a kitty maid in Alice-in-Wonderland garb, will play with the paper dolls and furniture—like children decorating a dollhouse.

DIY types have a chance to work with the artist on their own mini sets. The rest of us can consider the display a summertime version of NYC’s opulent holiday windows—and there’s no reason such a glorious tradition should be confined to the winter.
Books of Wonder, 18 W 18 St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-989-3270, booksofwonder.com). Display will be on view July1–Aug 30. - EB

See the Time Out NY Kids article HERE. Coming soon: Pictures and a video of the actual window display.