Here on Desert Bus, we love history. Especially our history of gags and references going back to previous runs. That's why we're kicking off two silent auctions that harken back to Night Watch's antics from 2021 - and you have until 2am PT to claim these historic artifacts for yourself!

Handpainted DB Shift-Themed Gunpla

We feel a bit set up for this one, but you know, we don't feel bad about that. Last year, Ian accepted a challenge to assign Gundams to each Desert Bus shift. Now, one year later, crafter Brandon Nguyen provided us with each of those selections, hand painted in their appropriate shift colors. They even come with accessories you can play around with when they land at your home!

Current Bid: $876.54

USS Tucson Cross Stitch Poster

The adventures of the USS Tucson moved and confused us for many a Night Watch during 2021. From blowing up Zeta to losing Ensign Ben for multiple days in a row, this storied starship lives on in the hearts of many. It also lives on in this beautiful cross-stitch recreation donated by SparklesPNW and based on the official diagram created by Desert Bus's own Jen "MangledPixel" Carling. Auction, engage!

Current Bid: $1,111.11

(Psst... you can also get the USS Tucson poster and playmat on the Desert Bus store!)

Ceiling egg... ceiling egg... ceiling egg... ce- oh, sorry, I'm supposed to be summarizing what happened this shift... ceiling egg... ceiling egg...

Here's what else you missed during today's Alpha Flight:

It's back... D+B 2022 kicks off!

Joe made cake! Actually... Joe made two cakes!

Welcome to Snorsh!

All hail ceiling egg!

We check in on those photos from yesterday taken with a multitude of lenses:

And finally, we read the winner and a runner-up from the longest sentence challenge!

Remember, for the latest updates, stay tuned to desertbus.org. You can also catch up on the latest #DB2022 happenings around the web...

• Visit YouTube for the latest video highlights from the Video Strike Team (VST).
• Check out photos from this year at photos.desertbus.org.
• Be our friend on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• And, of course, the live stream is always available at desertbus.org and twitch.tv/desertbus.

Earlier today in Alpha Flight, we challenged the community to write the longest funny sentence they could come up with. Here's the winning submission, from SoapToaster (she/her):

It has oft been queried­—by delicate youths, still flush with the impertinence of unsullied lexical exuberance, and by sainted grey-hairs, long-practiced in their jovial and comedic communiques, alike­—that the ultimate goal, the deep vein of motivational coal that fired the tight-bound yet animalistically-focused engine (an engine, we acknowledge, more traditionally focused upon the mundane daily goals of the coop, croft and farmyard) of poultific animation, that drove the illustrious-yet-unnamed delegate of Gallus Gallus Domesticus to step so boldly out from its agrarian homeland and into the eternal annals of the common man (and woman, and myriad identities betwixt and between), was merely that fundamental urge shared amongst such dissimilar bedfellows as ferry captains and rubinoid rovers, the pedestrian masses and the great Gulf Stream, that can yet be summed so succinctly as thus: to get to the other side.

Congratulations! Here are a few additional runner-up submissions in no particular order, including some we couldn't get to on-air...

As he waited in a seemingly endless dusk/night cycle at a bus stop — one that seemed rather strangely situated along a near perfectly straight road through a featureless and dusty desert that went on as far as the eye can see — the musician, currently going simply by his initial H rather than his name to avoid unpleasant questions from old fans, adjusted the strap of his guitar case to make it a little more comfortable for the long wait and flipped an odd coin of no monetary value but one which he was told would be accepted as fare by the only other traveller along this route; he looks up instinctively at the first hint of light on the horizon (could it be the dawn?) seeing what turn out to be headlights approaching from a great distance and coming ever closer until at last the bus stopped — a driver with the name badge Jocko looks out at the unusual sight of a waiting passenger on the normally empty road, recognising him with surprise as the one and only Horse — the driver asks "Why the long face?".

by Rebornflames (he/him)

I–and by which I mean, the somewhat unique system of chemical reactions and electrical impulses passing through a localized collection of also somewhat unique and constantly self-replicating cells (though both really only unique in the sense that said reactions, impulses and collection of cells occur in sequences and patterns that could have only been created by circumstance of genetic, educational, experiential, and traumatic factors and stimuli that the system has been subjected to) which altogether produce events that are interpreted by it, and other similar electro-chemical-organic systems, as thoughts, actions, emotions, and most horribly, longing for another system with which to satisfy some of those thoughts, actions, and emotions with–am.

by Call_me_Aras (he/him)

There once was a young Cheesemaker by the name of Charlie Chester with a respectable repute who gained such esteem having worked many weary weeks and merciless months learning the piquant and pleasant proficiency enough to take him to Canterbury's Crown Cheese Contest of the Century where he would go on to win the prime prize with the use of his skills, spark, and his supreme care as a savant, before travelling back, his trophies in tow, to find a fire consuming the place where he lives --now lived-- his house, his home, all gone under the tide of total devouring destruction that such a bonfire begets, compelling him to shut down, unable to handle the harrowing happening, to cease, to stop, staring sorrowfully at the burning, buckling building, only to search the soft and silty ash the next day, searching for something, anything he could reclaim to start his life anew, and as he grasps the one, the only cheesebag that had not been touched by the blistering blaze, he opens it, cries, and screams to the skies:"All that is left is De Brie!"

by Dal (they/them)

I Had No Idea That I Was Going To Be The Protagonist Of A Typical Japanese Light Novel Until I Woke Up In The Morning, Ran Outside With My Toast In My Mouth, Then Choked On It While I Was Hit By A Bus, Then I Woke Up In Another World Where I Was Suddenly The Most Popular Guy Around, Found Myself Saving The Lives Of Beautiful Elven Twins Who Said I Was Part Of An Ancient Prophecy Involving A Huge Temple And A Bunch Of Monsters, Which Suck The Soul Out Of Humans And Turn Them Into Puppets Which Is Really Freaky, But Then I Was Enlisted To Become A General In The Kingdom's Army Because Of My Expertise In Tactics Gacha Games, And Found Myself Leading An Army Of Werewolves Even Though I'm Allergic To Dogs, And Then I Sneezed So Much I Actually Woke Up And Couldn't Go Back To Sleep, So Now I'm Writing All This Down And Selling It To Kadokawa

by Jewelry Jelly (she/her)

Ever wonder how our photographer Kolin gets all those amazing shots? We decided to give you examples of his lens collection!

Below each image is the lens used to capture Erika and Cameron as they stay perfectly* still to recreate the same shot with each lens.

*there were some giggles

1. Fujifilm XF 16-55mm @ 55mm
2. Fujifilm XF16-55mm @ 16mm
3. 7Artisans 7.5mm
4. Fujifilm XF 50-140mm @ 140mm
5. Fujifilm XF 50-140mm @ 50mm
6. 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2
7. Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4
8. Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2

Inspired by Terry Pratchett, we've challenged the community to submit their longest funny sentence. Feel free to use whichever syntactical tricks you want, but it must be one and only one sentence total. For example, from Kathleen...

Most of the watercourses on Ravnica have been, at one point or another,  subject to ambitious Izzet League reclamation schemes that essentially paved over any river, lake, and — in the case of famously stubborn Izzet engineer Emona Plazzjok — ocean that had audacity to get in the way of civic progress.

Send your submissions to contest@desertbus.org with the subject line "Funny Sentence". Include your submission as the text content of your email. Also, please be sure to include the name you'd like to go by and your pronouns should we show your submission. We'll accept submissions until 4:30pm PST today. The winner will receive a Desert Bus T-Shirt!

We'd like to take a moment to thank one of our sponsors of this year's event: Card Kingdom!

Magic is fun. But you knew that already. Getting you the cards you need to have fun is where Card Kingdom comes in. Since 1999, Card Kingdom has been focused on making it the best place on earth to by Magic cards; they've grown into one of the world's biggest retailers of Magic: the Gathering, with two brick and mortar locations in the Seattle area. They're a family owned business that's been successful because they have the support of their community. That's why they created Engage: a charitable giving program that donates to local causes and hosts charity tournaments.

Thank you, Card Kingdom, for your support of Desert Bus for Hope 2022!

Tune in for the first session of D+B, Alpha Flight's Dungeons & Dragons adventure! Our players will be travelling in a bespoke setting designed by friend of the bus and DM, Dale. Dale will be DMing our first session; the sessions over the rest of the week will be DM'd by other members of the Alpha Flight team.

In case you missed it, here's a sneak peek of the setting we'll be using this year.

Tune in today thru Thursday at 1:30pm PST for D+B! And, in case you miss it live, check out the replays on our YouTube channel.

We here at Dawn Guard have been in quite the battle recently.
Legal battle that is.
James brought on a star witness, a man very knowledgeable in all things ghost, to prove that his many, many, MANY losses have not been his fault but in fact the work of a ghost haunting him!

And of course, despite all his proof and eye witnesses, Serge still refuses to believe him. Or should we say.....SNERGE?!?!?!

But no matter what the cause, James has LOST the first game of Coffee Pong, so the score is....

We also had an incredibly intense live auction for a beautiful clock inspired by Chrono Trigger, and it went for OVER 10K!!

Specifically, JRandomHacker won for $10,240! Thank you to everyone who bid and congratulations to the winner! We're all very jealous of you.

We also played Jeopardy (poorly), made guesses for American football (even more poorly), and guessed Scottish food by their names (perfectly, according to the players). And our first timer Carrie got to learn THE KRAKEN from Liz! Her self proclaimed mating call.

Of course, you can always go to our youtube channel to watch any of this thanks to the ALL POWERFUL VST! Thank you all for your work yet again!

I hope you enjoyed the first shift from us. So find a seat, kick back, enjoy the rest of the day, and get ready for tomorrow when more Dawn Guardian Shenanigans ensue!

If you're reading this before 10am PST on 11/13/22, you still have a chance to bid on these two wonderful pieces of art! But make sure to keep an eye out for snipers in those last few moments! You never know who will swoop in...

Fecto Elfilis Needle Felted Art Doll is our first, which is a beautfully hand felted doll based on a certain boss from a certain Kirby game. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but if you know you know and even if you don't you should bid on this anyway because it's 3D printed and hand painted details are so good!

Lake Hylia From Breath Of The Wild is the other one, but nothing to sneeze at. This pen and ink drawing with the shape of Lake Hylia from BOTW is incredibly detailed and filled with little easter eggs. You can't fully appreciate this piece until it's in your home, so go bid!