Just a quick heads up that nobody has hit the magic number yet, so two brand new, handmade, fresh leather smelling Makr wallets are up for grabs. And, just to give everyone a sporting chance, we’re going to extend the contest through the weekend (last entries in before midnight Monday). We’re also going to give you a hint: It’s more than $1. Alas, we’ve said too much!

Is it Tuesday already? While we’re busy devising ways to get you into first class seats, front row concerts, digitized gadgets and limited edition schwag, we thought you might like a nice amuse-gueules prize. We’ve been ranting about Makr brand leather goods, and now we want to put one in your pocket — wait, that didn’t come out right. Choose from all of their excellent lines, including the Lace (above, left) for the ladies.

THE PRIZE: A lovely Makr wallet (est. retail, $120).

THIS WEEK’S RULES: We have another simple challenge. Last week we wanted to know what Mr. Spear had in his bag. This week, we just want to know how much money you think he has in his wallet (at the time of this post). First two readers to get closest without going over … you know the drill.

Congratulations to Austin, Kathryn and Lisa.

Austin got there first with the correct guess of a mimobot (honestly, who travels without one of these?). Our runners-up also guessed that Josh carries around a charger (of the Blackberry variety — some of you said Blackberry, but everyone knows the actual device surgically attached to his palm) and a bottle of OTC pills (Melatonin for the jet lag). Again, thanks for playing and try again next week. There are some huge prizes coming up.

Time is running out to submit your guess for this week’s Big Ticket Tuesday. What does Josh have in his bag? A laptop? A change of clothes? Jars of his own urine? Your guess is as good as mine. And we have some good news. Although only one of you is going to be getting the Timbuk2 by Threadless bag, the two runners up (we did say there were three items in the bag) will get Threadless tees.

[ED NOTE: Yes, threatening Josh on the street and stealing his bag is a disqualification.]

It’s time again for another edition of Big Ticket Tuesday. This week we’re featuring one of the items we were high on a few weeks ago: Timbuk2 by Threadless collaboration

THE PRIZE: You’ll receive one of the three T-shirt inspired bags plus the matching shirt.

THIS WEEK’S RULES: What’s in the bag? The first person to correctly guess one of the three items that Josh has in his bag (excluding bag components like straps, zippers, etc.) at this moment wins. Fast, simple, and totally random. And, one guess per poster. The winner will be revealed Friday.

South Africa takes the reality show one step further. It’s called Can You Twist: six of the country’s best female short story authors compete online to be crowned “Short Story Diva.” For almost six weeks they’ve come up with zany plot twists in an effort to win viewer votes (and a nice chunk of prize money). We’re not sure what started the storytelling craze down there, but they’ve decided every Friday to bring elements of each story to life.

So far there’s been a huge art installation, the mass distribution of flowers, and a publicized break-up letter. The season is almost over, and who knows what weird machinations their literate minds will manifest.

Congratulations to Bryan.

Although we would love to give prizes to everyone who gave us camo colored thongs, tampon holders, nutsacks, wedding dresses, condoms, and Ted Nuget’s hat, we find this homage to Dali’s “Lobster Phone” to be the most original, most disturbing — frankly we feel that Bryan deserves the prize because we can’t ask the artist why this exists. Thanks again to everyone this week for sending your submissions. Try again next Tuesday!

Just a quick reminder to get your submissions in for the Big Ticket Tuesday Nooka watch contest. If you’ve never won anything in your life, now is your chance to make those odds slightly better. The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon, so hurry! Click here for the rules and details.

The winner of Typophile’s 2008 T-shirt Battle hails from from Ahmedabad, India. The font aficionado put together an appealing design entitled “Light, Regular, Bold, Bold Italic”, which consists of a sequence of sans-serif letter I’s in each stroke weight. As a slick, understated, asymmetrical design rather than an explicit reference to typography, “Light, Regular, Bold, Bold Italic” stands apart from previous battle winners with an extra touch of class. Pick it up soon, this one’s only available until August 15th.

They said it couldn’t be done. They said it shouldn’t be done. But, we’re doing it anyway. After a few all-nighter meetings at JoshSpear.com HQ, the team came to two conclusions: 1) people like free things, 2) people like their free with a bit of value. Hence Big Ticket Tuesday. Each week we’ll submit an excellent, expensive item for your perusal and pick the winner Friday afternoon.

THE PRIZE: The first Big Ticket item up for grabs is Nooka’s ZenH COTN Camo Green watch. Stylish, modern, and practically invisible in dense brush, this would be the hotness on any reader’s wrist.

THIS WEEK’S RULES: Here you see an aesthetically pleasing use of camo. Suggest the tackiest, most awful camo style you can find (No trucker hats or bikinis. For an example, see here) and drop the link down in the comments section. We’ll be scoring based on originality, cringeability, and use of the theme ingredient.

Good luck!

Congratulations to Phil and Mike. These gentlemen commenters came closest to the actual number of comments we have up on the site: 4241 (and hundreds more after this contest). We’d also like to give Chris Ing an honorable mention. Chris, you were over by one. Bob Barker would have plotzed. We want to thank everyone for playing, but more importantly, wanted to let you know that tomorrow JoshSpear.com starts “BIG TICKET TUESDAY“, our weekly giveaway for those lustworthy items you don’t have the bank roll for.

We really tried to not use the word pimp in this post, but alas — the crew at Infectious Car Art pimp a meaningful message (see, it works here) with their Obama Car Art contest. Independent artists have a shot at seeing their Pro-bama graphics plastered all over Infectious patrons’ cars — in addition to some prize money — prior to this year’s election. A progressive idea built to push a progressive candidate? If you’re an artist who can see yourself hitting this, the deadline for submissions is August 7th. McCain would have attempted to adapt this concept to his own campaign, had he not shun the Internets.

It’s a tie. Two of our readers guessed the exact same number of comments in our iPhone 3G milestone giveaway — which just happened to be the closest to the correct one. Before we announce their names and let you know exactly how many comments JS.com has, we need your input. Either a) we can be equitable and give away two iPhones or b) DEATHMATCH! The comment section will be open until 4 p.m. EST to let you decide their fate and suggest how the tie might be broken. Winners and the final ruling will be announced at 5 p.m. EST.

Remember how we told you a few days ago that we turned 4,000 (posts that is), and we were going to give you a free iPhone 3G if you could guess the number of jelly … er … comments we had up until that point. Well it’s still going strong. If you haven’t placed your bet, now is the time to do it, because we’ll be announcing the winner Monday morning. No hints!

And the winners for the Jawbone 2 Gold and Silver Giveaway are:

Michael — Not just for his tenacity, but for two thought provoking entries: Jem and the Holograms and Kids Incorporated. Way to play on our ’80s nostalgia.

Justin — Do you think when Neil Young did his MTV: Unplugged concert, he’d been told that Roxette had done “Heart of Gold” first?

Hit us back at feedback[AT]joshspear[DOT]com to claim your glittering hands-free device.