they use political savvy and sshhing
Nov 6, 2009First order of business! A reader emailed me a while ago about setting up a shop for charity (on the internets, of course. PSSH SCREW REALITY [jkjk]). I think it’s a really good idea. Play our part in the context of the whole, right? Right? Back me up Kimya? The only problem is a. I have no idea what to sell, and obviously I’m not creative enough to make anything, b. where and by what means should I sell it! And c. where should the money go.
“B” I can totally figure out but A and C are things I’d really like to hear about. You can email or formspring. Write a letter, send an owl. Pigeons work, too. I don’t discriminate.
Today I went to Chinatown with my class for flex friday. It was my first time eva being there and I have to say, it seems like China as far as Chicago goes. Some friends and I got lost trying to figure out what’s “in the boundaries” and just ate at some Great Wall of China place, which had raw shanks and chicken legs in the window. Water and pop were $1.00 each.
I also went to a store that sold Pocky, and seahorses, and dried fish in a brightly colored bag. I asked the woman behind the counter if seahorses were for eating (or “humans”) and she looked at me like WHAT YOU DON’T EAT SEAHORSE? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WHAT? The answer was no, so I don’t really know what they’re for. Hopefully it’s legal.
(image via seahorsesleuthdotorg) Poor seahorsies.
It was definitely a learning experience though. I took the Red line for the first time and watched four very awesome subway singers perform soul songs (like Thursday’s 30 Rock!!!1!!1!). They were more talented than a lot of indie kids OH BURRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNN.
Title: LESLIE KNOPE on: the library branch.
Did those red line singers sing “chain gang” by any chance? You’ve missed out!
I just moved to Chicago for school (I’m a first year at the University of Chicago down in Hyde Park), and I take the Red Line everywhere. It’s an interesting adventure every time I take it, to say the least.
SSSSSSWWWWWEEEEEEET!!!! Chinatown rocks!!! It’s a different experience at night to when it’s all lit up. Last time Iwent there was a kid doing crazy sick ninja moves!!! I was in awe!!! I’m like where do you go to school??? ninja academy…he said. THAT’S BAD…. ASSsssssss!!!!!! I bought nunchucks…but am not very good with them!!!! Good place to get steamers…for your veggies…and tea stuff..and funky hats…..and…bags of fortune cookies for not alot….and chopsticks…….and…..cool night light type things shaped like lotus flowers…and I love the packaging on their soda pops and stuff!!!
Hey Spencer, many species of seahorses are in serious danger of extinction (see fishbase.org). This eastern people has an insane fondness for killing animals for ‘magical’ cures, often using only parts of the animal (as penis, eyeballs, horns, etc.). They should be banned.
i swear those were the same singers on 30 Rock as I’ve seen at the El station… (I don’t remember which line)
Seahorses have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine for kidney related functions. I think to say that “eastern peoples have a fondness for killing animals for magical cures” is culturally ignorant, to say the least.
Eastern medicine has been practiced successfully for hundreds of years by Japanese, Korean and Chinese cultures (that includes people in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. Oh, and certain neighborhoods of Chicago and San Francisco.)
I think the development and production of “Western” medicine is also polluting, and definitely kills lots of laboratory animals during the testing phase. Plus, there are many side effects from Western medicine that Chinese medicine (because it is made from ingredients found in nature) doesn’t have.
And anyway, why is it wrong to cook and eat seahorses, and not wrong to eat lobster or fish or clams or other sea creatures? Because seahorses are cute? And if certain species are going extinct, I hardly think it is because of Eastern medicine alone — why all of a sudden, when seahorses and East Asians have coexisted harmoniously for centuries? Maybe there is also this thing called Global Warming going on, and maybe the seas are polluted by our garbage, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/23/oprah-shines-light-on-gre_n_190552.html
you are what you read
Chinatown is awesome. Me, my wife and son went there for my wife’s birthday in the spring. My son bought a ton of Asian candies and I bought a candy thermometer (still havent used it for anything).
Dying to go back there…they had Lobsers for really cheap per pound in one store.
The first time I went to Chicago when I was little was Chinese New year. We all went to china town and it was loud and fire cracker-y. Fun :)
Defending that animals should not being killed for superstition is not defending Western culture nor denying the impact of (mainly) wetern man on nature. The total flaw is in arguing that “Eastern medicine has been practiced successfully for hundreds of years”. What’s the mean of success here? Cultural self-indulgency, maybe
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Re: what you should sell for charity. Raid your dad’s possessions and list ‘em on eBay. I have no doubt that someone would buy, say, the remains of his half-eaten breakfast (I Am Trying To Break Your Pop-Tarts).
Wow… that was a long way for a bad joke, wasn’t it?
I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR POP-TARTS. Oh goodness. That’s now one of my favorite quotes.
I beg to differ re. your creativity, but I dunno about sales (not all creativity is salable). Your photos are awesome… maybe you could say any image posted is for sale and see what happens. Or just explain what you think is a worthy cause and explain why; sometime people just need to be led.
Totally agree with K Wild. Sell some of your photos!
I agree with the idea of doing something with photos. Zazzle.com may be your friend here. Maybe come up with some nifty t-shirt designs involving photography or artwork, maybe something music related. The nice thing about sites like Zazzle.com and cafepress.com is you don’t really have to handle the producing and selling of such items, you just need to come up with the design. The array of products that you can design is pretty crazy, too, everything from shoes to skateboards to postage stamps to Christmas ornaments.
I think http://www.smiletrain.org is a respectable charity. They do free cleft lip surgeries for kids in low income families. This surgery can change the course of their life, as a cleft lip drastically alters your appearance.
Do you like to paint? I would think if you did some really cool artwork you could sell it on your site. Maybe do one and have your Dad doodle or paint a small section of it and sign it. That would go for good money in an auction, especially if it was for a charitable cause.
Good luck, Spencer. I admire your interest in helping others. :-D
Parks and Recreation’s episode this week was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. The character of Ron Swanson is becoming a major reason I love that show. His quotes about his ex-wife were out of this world, gut busting funny.
captcha: belch Wilson – my new band name
Sell Karma. Seriously! Like the Carbon emissions trading scheme. When people do something naughty, which they know will generate some seriously bad karma, they can offset it by buying some good karma and the money goes to a worthy cause. You could even have a price list starting at “Bitching about your friend behind their back $5″, up to “Invaded another country $100,000,000″.
You should definitely sell some of your photos. Wilco memorabilia would also bring in lots of money.
Photos…maybe you could make postcards with your photos on the front. Zazzle is pretty cool I’ve seen others use it. I don’t know if you can make postcards on there though. And maybe note cards as well. I’d use them!