One Girl Revolution

Though I'm sure you're all getting sick of it, I wanted to let you know that I've put up an announcement at my shop. Here's what it says:

Shop Announcement
Pull The Plug On Cancer With Your Moonage Daydream Purchase!

From now until August 20, I will donate 10 percent of my profits to help sponsor my friend's participation in the 2007 Twin Cities Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk! If you would like more information on the walk, or if you would like to donate to her cause, please contact me. Thanks, happy shopping, and don't stop rocking!

Now obviously, I would like to help jumpinjessflash out as much as possible, so I'll need a lot of people to know about my shop. If you want to help out, you can buy something, link to my shop, or just donate to Jess directly. Her page is here, and any donations will be greatly appreciated - size does not matter, people. (You might want to use the dreaded Internet Explorer to view the page. For whatever reason, it has a tendency to crash FireFox, at least for me.)

Speaking of my shop, I need to get some sort of decorative banner up there. (onceupon has one on her shop, if you want to see what I'm talking about.) I'd also like to get some business cards printed up, sort of like I did with Forever Fifteen. The problem, aside from the Photoshop hating me? Well...I'm not really all that sure what to do, design-wise. My shop's theme and basis, "Rock and Roll Apothecary," is kind of hard to convey visually, I think. Obviously, the name of the shop was derived from glam rock, but I have a LOT of musical influences, so it wouldn't be fair to just peg it as glam and stick with that as a visual inspiration and aesthetic.

I dunno. If anyone out there has an idea that they can make work for the banner, the cards, or both, let me know. There'll be some free bath products in it for you.

In other news, there are still...six Apathy buttons left now, I think. You guys know the drill - leave your address over on this post (all comments screened), and you get a button and some cards to hand out in case someone asks where you got it. No need to memorize a sales pitch or act as a spokesperson, just wear the button. Done deal. Feel free to link people to the entry, as I have no problem sending out to people I don't know, no matter where in the world they are. Sales are picking up, according to theycallmeboy, so I'd like to thank everyone who has helped out, either by buying merch or helping us promote it. It means a lot!

And now, videos.

Little known fact about me: I've always harbored a fantasy of being a voice actress. Now, I know I can't act my way out of a paper bag, so I don't think I'd be all that successful. This guy, on the other hand...



And this one is for theycallmeboy, who apparently has never seen it! Classic!




And then there's this. You all knew it was coming:

The buttons have arrived. With any luck, I should be able to package them up for the three people who have requested them so far. If you'd like one, send me an e-mail with your address.

I came up with an idea for a new soap last night, based on the body scrub recipe I love so much. How does a soap with chocolate, cocoa and brown sugar in it sound?

Last night, I rediscovered my love for Japanese rock music, so I'm going to be writing a bit about my favorite Japanese musician here in a bit. In the meantime, here's a band that I'm sort of amazed I didn't get into when I was in college. Hope you enjoy it.

Buck-Tick: Love Me (live)

Ugh - just spent most of the morning in a meeting. No matter - now is time for thanks!

First, I want to give a major, major shout-out to dandycat, dimloep_suum and caudelac for participating in the Forever Fifteen Button Giveaway. As soon as I get those things, I'll send them out to you guys, along with some cards to pass out to admirers. That leaves me with seven buttons - six, if I keep one for myself. I have a plan of handing out buttons at Electric Picnic, so I may hold onto one of them. That would be fun.

And, brazenbells bought some soap from me! Thanks so much, dear - it's all packed up and ready to head on down to you. Hope you enjoy it!

Now, I'm making good on my promise to donate 10 percent of whatever I sell online to jumpinjessflash's Breast Cancer Walk Fundraiser (link to her donation page over in my links bar), and thanks to Etsy purchases by brazenbells and theycallmeboy, I can give her a grand total of...80 cents. The deadline is August - anyone care to help me make it an even $1? Remember, I'm selling books on Amazon, too...

Oh! taperkat! Thank you SO MUCH for the link to MooShoes! theycallmeboy has been looking for some sweatshop-free trainers (tennis shoes/sneakers for us Yanks), and I'm delighted to say that he found exactly what he was looking for. He's been fishing around for stuff like this for so long - thank you so, so much!

And my love, if you're reading this, I just want to tell you (and the world) that I am very, very proud of you living your convictions. You're an inspiration to me every day, and this is no exception. Your example makes me want to be a better person. I love you.

In fact, his search for trainers has got me thinking about my need to purchase some of my own, and the possibility of buying some that are sweatshop-free, environmentally sound, or both. Thing is, I rarely wear sneakers for style anymore, so I'll need something good and supportive - I'm a daily walker, so I need something more supportive than the formerly all-American Converse. (Can you believe they were bought up by Nike?) Someone over at this MetaFiler post recommended Saucony, so I think I'll look into them for a start. They seem to be pretty readily available - in fact, there's a store that's on the way home from work that sells them, so I may have to check them out at some point soon. My tennis shoes, like the glorious ECCO sandals, have soles that are quickly wearing through. So the question is, should I keep the sandals and the tennis shoes through the summer and wait until after the trip to purchase anew? Does anyone know how worn out is too worn out? There's no point in wearing shoes that can no longer do their job, you know?

Another question - should I join MetaFilter?

Since we're on the subject of ethical shopping, Co-op America has a nifty little article about nine ways you can avoid sweatshops. Some time ago, I donated $20 to Co-op America and was supposed to get their National Green Pages guide. It's not here yet, but I look forward to reading through it when (if?) it comes. Not a bad reference guide, I imagine.

Lastly, since shadownex asked a question about the yogurt company that ordered up this ad campaign in Brazil (her comment here): I don't know if that company is owned by a larger, global conglomerate like Dannon, so I don't know how (or if) she can boycott if she chooses. Personally, I think the best store-bought yogurt out there is Stonyfield Farms - their yogurt (and milk) is tasty and high quality, their company is socially responsible, and the only "cows" they feature in their advertising are actual cows. Because at Stonyfield, women are people, not objects of scorn and derision. Thank you. *hops off milk crate*

Ok, so the tally is now eight buttons. I'll keep track for both you and I.

And I'm still swatting around the idea of tossing in something extra if ya'll go out and buy something from the shop on your own. Because that'll help promote my shop. Or something.

The Forever Fifteen Button Giveaway!

I got an e-mail yesterday saying that my CafePress order is being shipped, so the buttons are on their way!

I realize that I've added a few people to the flist since the last button giveaway, so it's worth an explanation so you know what I'm talking about, as well as if you want in:

theycallmeboy has a CafePress site. The proceeds from the site will go toward supporting his film projects, or, as of this Friday, giving him some extra income while he looks for a new job. Either way, you can be sure that the money is going toward supporting an artist, and not just money that he can spend on beer.

Now, in an effort to promote the site, I will do a button giveaway every so often. All you have to do is request a button and give me your address. I'll send you a button, as well as five business cards and five postcards. You do NOT have to feel obligated to hand these out to random people - basically, if someone sees your brand new, spiffy button and asks where you got it, you can hand them the card and it's a done deal. No fancy pitches, no acting as a spokesperson. Hell, no need for memorization, even. Just hand them the card and it's a done deal. You get a free button, your friend finds out where to get a button of their own, a fine young artist gets some money for his dreams, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that my boyfriend isn't going to starve to death, get evicted, or both. I think it's fair to say that everyone wins.

The design chosen for this giveaway is the very popular "Apathy" design. (The full design reads, "Apathy rules, or something. Whatever.") This is evidently one of the shop's better sellers, and now you have a chance to own an Apathy piece of your very own without having to pay a cent.

If you want a button, leave your name and address below. (Comments are screened.) If you're still squeamish about leaving that info, e-mail me at kiji_kat2004 at yahoo dot com.

And if you want to be super cool and buy something from the store, let me know! (You won't be able to lie - he and I talk daily.) Maybe I'll sweeten the deal and make you some soap or body oil. How does that sound?