Hidden Agenda players will probably recognize this eco-conscious frog as Skip, the tireless crusader for a good cause who isn’t afraid to get his webbed feet dirty! What do you think is transpiring here between Skip and his avian server?

Submit your caption in the comments below, then come back Friday to vote on the finalists!

The building got a new coat of paint, light fixtures, countertops, chairs, and ceiling tiles, plus a spiffy new mural from some cool cats — artsy and otherwise — at PopCap. (Please note the nice lady at the 1:07 mark in the video. She designed the mural and will probably be mad at me for calling her out like this but she deserves credit and it’s not like I said your name, Lorie!)

Many thanks to BNBuilders, Washington Commercial Painters, Sherwin Williams, Precision Electric, Auburn Mechanical, Contour Countertops, Ducky’s Furniture and GK Knutson for their generous donations of time and resources for the project.

Crazy Dave & Zombie Carmen Miranda go Wabby Wabbo at Pride!

In the riot of color, you may recognize the orange of road cone headgear!

Our humble truck was dressed to the nines!

PopCap is proud to have been a part of this joyous celebration! And as a PopCapper myself, I am proud to work for a company that shows such Pride! It was a beautiful day in Seattle.

So far we have pledges totaling more than $73,000 USD!

UPDATE: Pledges are now approaching $80,000 USD! Thanks everybody!

We are humbled by the tremendous generosity of our Solitaire Blitz players and fans. And not to get all NPR on you, but it’s not too late to make a pledge! The marathon kicks off on June 26. It’s going to be a great event so don’t miss it.

Check out our Solitaire Blitz Marathon Facebook page to learn more about our two players (Laura in London and Kathleen in NYC), see their progress, get live updates, and make a pledge of your own to support a worthy cause.

For Matt H., Senior Artist on hit games like Bejeweled 3, Peggle Nights and Feeding Frenzy 2, just drawing random things gets his juices flowing. “Fan art, megaman, old cars – anything that sounds fun, even if it’s off-task. It will usually get the brain going for me.” Guy W., Audio Director and mastermind behind the music in our newly launched Solitaire Blitz game, finds inspiration running trails with his dog Murphy, meditation, yoga and writing music for himself.

Taking walks and listening to music are my antidote to writer’s block (unfortunately standing in front of the refrigerator is less effective, as I keep reminding myself). I have some favorite go-to tunes and I love discovering new pieces that inspire me. This morning I found a phenomenal finger-style guitar version of Laura Shigihara’s music from Plants vs. Zombies that someone sent me. Just awesome! Maybe it will inspire you too.

If only I could listen to that while I stand in front of the refrigerator!

Now it’s your turn! Tell us what YOU do to get your creative juices goin’. Post it on our Facebook page and we’ll keep sharing more tips from folks here.

What did folks at PopCap dress up as for Halloween? Stay tuned next week!

Meanwhile, your photos from Halloween past keep arriving in our in-box. So while you’re putting the final touches on your own costume, take a peek at at one more batch of Halloween costumes and decorations — courtesy of our amazing Blog readers.

Patrick H. sent us his Balloon Zombie...

while Brandi J created PvZ decorations.

Meanwhile Stacy W dressed her daughter as a... Sunflower Zombie??! (Beware Zombies -- this looks like a plant to me!)

Adrien G.'s daughters and sister embraced the PvZ spirit...

and even Adrien and her husband got into the act!

If you’ve been following our Blog Ride (which I’m sure at least one or two of you have), you know that folks here love being a part of PopCap. Well, today I’m not going to tell you all the reasons we love this place. I’ll just show you. (Drum roll, please.)

So, without further ado, here’s the first-ever PopCap recruitment video from our awesome HR team.

Kick off your shoes, turn up the volume and enjoy. And if your boss walks by, invite him or her to join you. Who knows, maybe you’ll even share a laugh or two.

Have a fun weekend, everyone!

Upon opening the freezer door, I found my raison d’être. Eureka!

There, alongside cartons of cheese and chicken burritos and Boca burgers, was a large bag of frozen tilapia loins.

What's that next to the Boca Burgers? Tilapia loins, of course!

Really?

Tilapia loins??

Listen, I know what a tilapia is (check out the photo below) and I know what a loin is (uh, sorry, no photos here). I just don’t know how they ended up together. And, just curious, why are they in our freezer?

A tilapia poses for his portrait

Since I work with a bunch of really sharp people I sent an urgent email to my 2nd floor colleagues. Surely someone could help me get to the bottom of this mystery. Here are some of the helpful responses I got:

“Genetically mutated tilapia that have been grown to have legs. Delicious tilapia loins are the end product.”

“Aliens put them there. Obviously.”

Obviously.

Clearly, I’m not the only one confused by tilapia loins because this bag has never been opened. In fact, I just checked the expiration date and it looks like someone might have actually enjoyed eating them a lot more last month than, um, now.

Hmmm...where did we go wrong?

If you’re still reading this, thank you. To show my appreciation, I did a little digging and found a recipe for tilapia loins that’s supposed to be delicious. So the next time you encounter a bag of frozen tilapia loins in your freezer, you’ll know exactly what to do with it.

Now I’m gonna’ go play a game of Feeding Frenzy!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle your favorite seasoning on the tilapia loins. Add tomato slices, several orange peels and a dab of butter on each loin. Wrap each tilapia loin in tin foil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Enjoy!

We don’t want to get all “it’s an honor just to be nominated” on you, but it really was an honor for our humble in-house design team to be included among many of Seattle’s top design firms.

And they nailed it.

Our marker sits just down the hill from our office, outside the Belltown P-Patch.

We landed there because, according to Web Art Director Jesse Doquilo, “It’s a community garden where neighbors come together to create a beautiful place. And it was a rare opportunity for us as a design team – the content team, video team, print team and web team — to come together and work on one project.”

Here’s the marker, in all its glory (and from both sides). It was a great collaboration between our Seattle and Dublin offices.

Here’s a view from the south side.

Now the north side, with several of the designer types who had a hand in the process.

And here’s the accompanying video about the Belltown P-Patch, which really is a nice getaway in the middle of the city.

After reading about PopCap’s Wonder Woman-obsessed Ellen Marrett last month, one blog reader was inspired to take matters into his own hands. He decided to create a motion-sensitive box that plays the Wonder Woman theme song when Ellen starts her day.

“When I wrote up the documentation, I called it the Wonder Woman Theme Player, but I just call it my second box,” explained Michael Black, a Web Developer with PopCap’s Content Services team.

Apparently Michael has a penchant for creating one-of-a-kind boxes in his spare time. “My first box was a useless machine that had the sole purpose of turning itself off.”

Michael spent two weeks (after work, of course!) building his second box. First he researched how to use an Arduino to detect motion and play music. Then he ordered all the parts, soldered them together and spent a day or two writing code. When all the internal components were in place, he was ready to assemble his creation.

“I went to Metrix Create:Space and with the help of their staff used their laser cutter to make the box and etch a logo into the side.”

Wonder Woman Theme Box with etched logo

Then Michael enlisted the help of James Bernert, PopCap’s Facilities Coordinator, to sneak into Ellen’s office and set up the sting.

“I went into her office early in the morning and set up the box on her desk. I spent about 30 minutes walking back and forth in front of her glass door, testing the motion sensor’s sensitivity to make sure it didn’t go off when someone walked by.

“I had James spy on her to make sure it worked. The plan was that if the box failed, he’d call her out of her office before she found it, and reset it for me,” he said.

Hoping to keep his identity a secret, Michael created an email account under an alias so Ellen could get help if she had questions about her awesome box.

Documentation for Ellen's Wonder Woman Theme Player

But his anonymity was short-lived.

“I’m not sure exactly how she found out it was me, but I got an email from her minutes after she arrived at work,” he said.

Perhaps Michael forgot Wonder Woman’s ultimate superpower.

“No one can resist the golden lasso. It binds all who are encircled and compels them to tell… the truth!”

Now I know you wanna hear the Wonder Woman theme!